Skyrim The story of Elliora Silvereye
by CupcakeFury
Summary: A nord girl which returns to the homeland only to be dragged into two wars, one between the sons and daughters of Skyrim and one for the very survival of Tamriel.
1. Escape from Helgen

**Disclaim:I do not own Skyrim or any of its characters. I only own Elliora Silvereye!  
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**A few words for my fanfic: My story will be about a nord girl trained by the best masters in Hammerfell at swordmanship(meaning warrior class). The scales of engagement will be grand. I am talking about battles with hundreds of thousands of soldiers (after all - SKYRIM- the begining of the Empire and the largest country of them all). Towns and cities will be on a grand scale also(with hundreds of thousands villagers living in them.). Also the atmosphere in the story will not be "sunshine and rainbows". And my creation will be on the Stormcloak's side!**

**PS:This is my first try at typing fiction, so i hope you enjoy it!  
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_**Chapter one:Escape from Helgen!**_

The wagon shook violently! Elliora heard whispering voices all around her and started to wonder what had happened and why were her hands bound in tight ropes.  
>The wagon shook again and she opened her eyes to take a look around her. She found out that she wasn't alone in her not so cozy "carriage". An Imperial soldier was driving the wagon and behind him next to her were seated other two prisoners .<br>"_Wait! Prisoners? What in the name of Talos is going on here_?"-she thought.  
>She shook her head and took a look at her surroundings. They were going down a mountain road in the middle of what it seemed like a prison convoy. After a better look out she noticed the convoy had just a little too many escorting soldiers along with it, they were nearing around a thousand bodies!<br>"_Huh, they must be escorting some very dangerous prisoners_!"-she murmured to herself! A prisoner on her left side saw that she had awakened and turned to her. Only then did she notice that he was in a standard nordish military leather armor, the only curious thing was that every part of it was blue. She looked around again and her eyes narrowed a little. Almost every prisoner in the convoy had the same armor as the guy next to her!  
>"<em>Wait<em>!"-she thought. "_These are prisoners of war_!"  
>-amazement dawned to her.<br>"_Talos damn me, what have i gotten myself in to_!". The soldier on her right looked at her and said:

-"Hey you! You were trying to cross the border right ? You walked right into that Imperial ambush, same as us and that thief over there"-he pointed with his head at a nord male who had the look of a beggar. The thief in question looked at the soldier with bloodshot eyes:  
>-"Damn Stormcloaks and your damned rebellion, Empire was nice and lazy untill you came along, if it weren't for them i could have stolen a horse and i would be half the way to Hammerfell by now!"-he looked at Elliora: -"You and me shouldn't be here,<br>its those damn Stormcloaks the Jarl wants!". The soldier just shook his head:  
>-"We are all brothers and sisters in bounds now thief!".<br>Elliora took a look at the sky. It was clouded with hints of future snowing,and then there was the bone chilling wind! There was a long run on he road and Elliora caught a glimpse of the head of the convoy. She saw the uniforms of a few Imperial Officers and a gray-haired man in a general's uniform. The thief was looking at a man on the right of Elliora and he had a puzzled look on his face. She didn't ask him what was so curious because she was little interested in the man herself. He was middle aged,  
>around his middle fourties, he was broad and sturdy as most of the nord male population but unlike the other prisoners he wasn't wearing any armor, he was wearing an expensive and warm looking coat, in other words he looked like a man whose place wasn't here.<br>"_Maybe he is in the same position as me_"-she thought.  
>Elliora was a nord at birth, but her parents were mercenaries and they had left Skyrim an year after she was born to make their way to hammerfell to sell their talents in swordsmanship. She was around 190cm tall with long dark blonde hair, her figure was mostly considered as attractive by most standarts and she didn't lack attention wherever she went. The most interesting and unusual part of her were her eyes. She had silver eyes, a thing everyone from childhood thought as strange and unusual because no one had ever seen such eyes and both her parents had blue eyes! She had trained in the martial arts of the swords all her life at the very best sword masters in hammerfell and she was proud of herself that she had beaten them all at one or another time of her training. For some strange reason her memory of the events that had her captured were fuzzy, like in a fog. After a while the thief looked at the richly clothed man whose mouth was bandaged and asked out loud:<br>-"What's his problem? Why have they wrapped him like an animal?" The soldier snarled threateningly:  
>-"Watch your tongue thief, that is Ulfric Stormcloak you are speaking to!The true High King of Skyrim!"-he said with burning flames in his eyes.<br>-"Ulfric? The Jarl of Windhelm? The leader of the rebellion?"-the thief almost choked.  
>"A rebelion? That's interesting!"-Elliora thought. -"Wait...if they've captured you ... oh gods ... where are they taking us ?"-panic started to rise in the wretched man. The soldier bowed his head and sayed calmly:<br>-"I don't know where they are taking us, but Sovngarde await us!"

-"No...no,this isn't happening!"-said desperately the thief.  
>The caravan continued on the bumpy road for what Elliora estimated to be around 10 more hours furthering away from the high peaks. When she came to herself it was early morning, now the sun was far past its middle threatening to set down after a few more hours. In the near distance she spotted white town walls.<br>"_It seems we are nearing our destination_"-Elliora thought-"_I wonder what Talos has prepared for my return to the homeland_".  
>She decided not to give it much thought, as an old saying told -"<em>What was destined to happen will happen no matter what you try to do<em>". The soldier looked at the thief again and asked him:  
>-"What village are you from thief ?"the thief turned his head towards him:<p>

-"What do you care?"-he said angrily. The soldier just shook his shoulders and spoke:  
>-"A nord's last thoughts must be about home." The thief answered weakly:<br>-"Roorickstead, I..I'm from Roorickstead."  
>They were passing through the gates now and Elliora saw the man in the general's uniform talking with - from all things - a group of Thalmer. Elliora narrowed her eyes. She hated the damned elves even more than the twice-damned Emperor who had surrendered to the Dominion and accepted the expulsion of Talos from the empire.<br>All of a sudden the Thief started to pray to all the known gods for help. She smirked "Gods don't help people, they want people to help themselves"-she thought but didn't say it out loud. The Stormcloak opened his mouth:  
>-"General Tullius, the Military governor of Skyrim, and looks like the Thalmore are with him, damn elves.. i bet they had something to do with this!"-he said with poisonous venom. He sighed:-"This is Helgen. I used to be sweet on a girl here."-he said after scanning with his eyes the town.<br>The carts continued their way for the center of the town. After a good five minutes they were finally at their destination. The soldiers started to unload the prisoners on to the street and made them form lines. Elliora got up and jumped, landing with a soft thump on the ground. The Stormcloak looked at her quizzingly and she jerked her shoulders:  
>-"If its dying time, at least i can have some fun pretending i'ma two year old!"-she joked smiling. The soldier returned her smile and shook his head. An imperial soldier positioned himself at the front of their line and pulled out a big scroll.<br>-"Empire loves their damned lists"-the stormcloak spoke.  
>The imperial started calling out names and the line started to shorten of a sudden the thief made a run for it shouting:<p>

-"I'm not an rebel, you wont catch me!"  
>-"Archers!"-one of the officers shouted and after few seconds the runner was laying on the ground with 5 arrows in his back. -"Anyone else feels like running?"-the officer asked.<br>The man with the list continued:

-"Ulfric Sotrmcloak Jarl of Windhelm."- he called and the richly dressed man stepped forward.

-"It's been an honour, my King!"- spoke the sotrmloack.

-"Ralof of Riverwood!" came the next name and the soldier passed by Elliora slowly. The people of the town were gathering around the small army and the prisoners. -"Impirial Bastards!" came a shout from somewhere. After a while she was the only one left in her line. The imperial soldier startled when he saw the woman in front of him - if he coud call her that becouse she looked too young- she looked to be around 22-24 - wore expensivly looking leather boots with steel threads, tight leather pants with lots of strange straps on them "Maybe they are for daggers and other weapons"-he tought, also she had a blackshirt and what it seemed to be a winter coat big enough to hide every weapon expet two-handed swords and axes, if she closed the cloak around her.  
>On her hands he observed that she was wearing black leather, finger-cut gloves from some strange material that looked like it was her second skin. Elliora looked at him waiting patiently - not that she was going anywhere with a thousand soldiers around her. The imperial was checking his list again and his eyes narrowed:<br>-"Who... are you!"  
>-"Elliora "Silvereye""-Elliora answered proudly. The soldier gave her a nod:<br>-"You chose a bad time to come to the homeland kinsman! Captain what shoud we do, she isn't on the list?"he turned to the imperial woman at his right side. She gave Elliora a sigle glimpse and turned to the soldier:  
>-"Forget the list, she goes to the block!"<br>"Talos if I survive this day i swear i will paint my clothes in this womans blood!"-Elliora sweared to herself, her blood boiling with rage."So this is what imperial justice has come to? Hey look, it's a stranger in a strange land, she is not on the god damn list but what the hell, lets kill her too!"-Elliora looked again around trying to find a weakness in the circle of soldiers. She glared at the captain. She was just looking at her again and made a step back unconsciously after seeing the silver flames in the prisoner's eyes. Then she hurried forward where the executions were about to start. Someone pushed her and Elliora made her way slowly after the officer lady. The beheading blocks were positioned infrond of a tall guard tower. A priestess began chanting some prayer but was interupted by the unlucky stormcloack that had won the first beheading:  
>-"Get on with it, i dont have all evening!"<p>

-"So be it."-the priestess answered.

-"As brave at the end as he was in life!  
>See you in Sovngarde my brave friend!"-Ralof said aloud. The officer that had played at jury, judge and executioner held the stormcloak down and the axe of the executioner fell with one swift swing, a muffled thud was all that was heard when the prisoners head fell in the basket in front of the block.<p>

-"Next is the prisoner with the black cloak!"-the woman shouted. All of a sudden there was a strange noise far in the mountains. Elliora felt her blood freeze cold and and she tensed trying to hear something more. After she didn't hear anything else she continued on her way to the beheading block. The imperial officer was just about to push her down when she heard the roar again, this time sounding very close.

-"Did you hear that ? What the hell makes such a sound?"-the soldiers started turning their heads towards the mountain and the town walls.  
>-"It's just the wind, continue with the executions!"-ordered the general. Someone pushed her down and held her steady on the block... and then she saw the most horrifying creature she could imagine. A gigantic flying behemoth made its way trough the sky and landed on the watch tower.<p>

-"What the hell is that ?"-someone shouted. -"I don't believe it, its a dragon!" The gigantic creature looked at her and then at the rest of the soldiers and townsfolk, all of a sudden shouting something on a strange language and then all hell broke loose. The sky darkened and a hole in it appeared sprouting countless fireballs at the townsfolk, soldiers and the entire town as a whole.

-"Everyone, evacuate and defend the people!"-Elliora heard the general shouting.  
>"Soo, even in front of a creature supposed to be dead from thousand of years the general had kept his cool and didn't let his soldiers run like rabbits." she thought "It seems the Empire still has at least one competent military leader."- she thought grimly. All of a sudden Ralof was in front of her shouting:<br>-"Come with me, we won't have a better chance to escape!"-he pointed at a near tower down to the east side of the town and started running. Without further delay she fell right next to him in a fast sprint. As they made their way trough the mass panic that was the town, she turned her head at the sky and looked at the dragon again. He was big, not just big-he was huge, she had seen mammoths before and thought that they were amazingly big creatures, that was until this day, the giant lizard-like creature had a long tail over 13 meters(that's a four story building for those that can't picture it), his wings were clouding the entire town square, his front and back legs had huge sharp nails that coud probably cut a human in half like a hot knife passing trough butter, and there was the head big enough to crush a whole human body with ease using lots and lots of big and sword-like teeth. The scariest thig of all were his eyes, eyes that had incredible intelligence behind them and something that looked to her too much as hatred and anger. She had seen them when the creature had looked at her and thought that maybe he would kill her with just his mind. Elliora was a competent warrior, she was an expert in many hand-to-hand combat skills and most of the worldly known sword masteries, including some that were taught only by the most renown Hammarfell masters. She was born with exceptional physical endurance and highly sharpened senses that made her masters often wondered if she was even human. But at the sight of that monster she thought of herself as an ant, an insignificant little bug that probably would sting the great behemoth a few times before it turned her to crisp with his great magic or trample her over.  
>Finally she and Ralof made it in to the tower and she was surprised to see a few more sotrmcloaks inside along with Ulfric himself. After they closed the door Ralof looked at his king and asked:<br>-"It's really a dragon, could the legends of old really be true?Are the end times really upon us?"

-"Legends don't burn down villages and slaughter their people."-Ulfric said. Elliora heard another roar outside and shivered. -"We need to move!"someone shouted.

-"Come, lets us go up the tower!"-Ralof hurried them. She made her way up the stairs with him. They reached the second floor, where a few more rebels had gathered, and they made their way towards them when all of a sudden the wall on her right side blew up and the dragon released - what she thought was his breath attack - and burned the stormcloaks. She cursed! Ralof yelled behind her:  
>-"Jump trough the tower in to the house and try making your way to the barracks, I will try to meet you there!"-and he ran down the stairs. Elliora cursed again and jumped trough the massive hole in the tower towards the burning building.<p>

-"Gods be damned for my luck! From a collapsing tower into a damned inferno. My luck just keeps getting better and better!"-she shouted and ran towards the closed door smashing it with her body and then rolling to the ground on the street. She jumped at her feet fast and dusted herself off.  
>To her surprise in-front of her popped out the imperial soldier who had called the Jarl and Ralofs names. He looked at her and his yes widened in surprise, then he beckoned her:<br>-"Come with me if you want to stay alive, we shall make our way through the northern side of the town and pass the gate leading the way to the barracks!" Elliora nodded and started after him. "I wish i had a bow so i could at-least pay my respects to this damned oversized lizzard before I escape!"-she thought. After a good ten minutes running trough screaming people and burning buildings they came across a narrowed alley between the town wall and one big structure.  
>-"Stay close to the wall!"-the imperial soldier shouted and went on. She went after him and moved leaning with her back against the wall. All of a sudden the ground shook, atop of them appeared the long neck of the dragon alongside with the edges of his giant wings.<p>

-"_**YOL TOOR SHUUL**_!"-the strange words shook the ground and a blazing inferno erupted from his jaw. Elliora felt really strange after hearing those words, almost as if she had understood them, which was really odd and wierd, somehow hearing them she felt like she had experienced a deja^vu. The beast then spread his wings and flew in to the sky again. Elliora cursed herself "Maybe i should stop insulting the dragon in my head!"she thought to herself.  
>They passed the gate leading towards the keep and the barracks. Just as they were about to enter the keep Ralof dashed in-front of them shouting:<br>-"Hadvar damn traitor!" It seemed they both knew each other. -"Get out of our way!You'll not stop us this time!"

-"Fine, i hope this dragon takes you all to Sovngarde!"-Hadvar shouted back and ran towards the western door of the keep. Ralof turned towards me:  
>-"You!Come on! In to the keep!"-and he ran towards the eastern side of the keep. Elliora followed him without a second thought."With a little more luck maybe we could yet get out of this alive, and i would get a chance to pay in kind to the Empire for these past few days!"-she thought with a sneer. They entered the keep and Ralof closed the door behind them blocking it with a big piece of wood. He took a look at the young nord girl:<br>-"Come let me unbind your hands. Can you wield a weapon?". Elliora looked at him with a grin and answered:  
>-"Give me a sword and you'll see!" Ralof raised and eyebrow.<br>He took a look around and frowned:  
>-"Only weapons i see here are axes and maces, guess we'll have to ask an imperial if he would be so kind to hand over a sword or two?"-he joked.<br>-"Very funny!If we encounter one of the shinies i would most certanly do that!"-she spat back at him. Then strode towards him and pulled her hands up so he could cut the rope with his axe. When the ropes were down she rubbed her wrists and made a few stretchings. -"Aaaahh! It's good to be able to feel your fingers!"-she exclaimed.  
>Ralof made a fast sweep of the room they were in, looking for something that could be useful, and then took a peek at her:<br>-"We need to make our way towards the dungeons.  
>There is a tunnel leading trough the mountain and towards Riverwood!"<p>

-"The gate is locked!"-Elliora pointed out after she checked the steel door leading to the dungeons.  
>-"Is there another..."-she started asking but then she heard voices from the corridor leading down the keep. They both rushed towards the walls on both sides of the door and crouched.<br>-"Come on!Lets go out and help the general!"-a female voice came from the corridor. "_Well, well, well_!"-Elliora smiled inwardly recognizing the female voice. "It seems Talos granted me my payback to the judge after all!". She waited in anticipation for the soldiers to enter the room. She heard the door click and the sound of heavy boots entering the room, and then...she moved.  
>Ralof blinked in total astonishment at the sight that played in-front of him. The stranger moved like lightning , intercepting the female officer with a fast, and as it seemed very strong, straight right in her left temple sending the other woman flying towards the wall with her helmet bended inwards and blood leaking on her cheek. After she was done with the officer she lunged herself towards the closest soldier who unexpectedly had unsheeted his sword fast enough. Sadly it didn't do him any good. The young nord girl grabbed his hand, twisting it to the right and stabbing him with his own weapon in the chest. After the kill was certain she pulled the sword and jumped towards the last two surviving soldiers. It seemed they were too shaken and stunned at the sight that had played in-front of them the first couple of seconds, but then they drew their swords and focused at her.<br>That was a deadly made his way from the back towards the one closest to him. In the meanwhile the soldiers started exchanging blows with the girl. She parried a few complicated side swings from the older soldier, it seemed he had experience in fighting, then she pulled her head back dodging a swing at her throat from the younger one. She lunged forward and pierced him in the left thigh. He let out a grown and pulled back a little, then all of a sudden his eyes went white and he fell down revealing Ralof who was pulling his axe out of his neck. She nodded and concentrated on the last imperial, who had begun to sweat after seeing that the deadly woman wasn't alone and that his friend in arms was dead on the ground. He decided to try overpowering the female with his mass and charged at her swinging his sword in a vertical hit. But Elliora wasn't an ordinary fighter, she had learned to read the body language of her opponents and she understood his intention. When he charged she braced herself and met his swing head on with her blade. There was a loud sound and sparkles of steel meeting steel followed by a heavy "thud". The soldier hadn't expected the woman would meet his swing head on and was caught off-guard by the sheer strength she had. With a loud cry she pushed hard sending him rolling on the ground. In a flash she was standing over him and pierced his throat.

-"You've got some skill there."-Ralof said -"Ok, lets find the keys and head down towards the tunnels."

-"Right. Thanks for the help by the way!" She searched the officer's body, took the keys and they headed down the stairs for the around ten minutes walking past prison cells and guard quarters Ralof turned his head towards Elliora:  
>-"We didn't introduce ourselves properly. My name is Ralof of Riverwood, i am one of King Ulfric's high guards. What is your name kinsman?"<p>

-"I go by the name Elliora Silvereye,"-Elliora answered.

-"That's a strange name for a nord. And you dont seem to be from around here judging by your clothes."

-"I am born here in Skyrim, but my parents moved to Hammerfell when i was just a toddler. They were mercenaries and very capable ones at that. They didn't want a regular name that could be met almost in all of Skyrim for their daughter. So i grew up going all around Tamriel, but most of my life went in Hammerfell where i studied the arts of the sword."-she spoke. Her companion nodded and they continued cautiously in the corridor. The keep suddenly shook, and another roar was heard.

-"This beast doesn't give up easily."-Ralof pointed out. They stopped in-front of a door and heard clanging sounds from the other side. They exchanged looks and rushed inside with their weapons drawn. Inside they found four stormcloaks engaged in battle with 7 imperial soldiers. They joined the fight instantly. Elliora made her way to the nearest group of fighters and swung her sword at the neck of the imperial female in-front of her. With her aim coming true, the woman fell gurgling and choking with her own blood on the ground. One of the soldiers turned towards her and swung his claymore at her. She jumped over, landing behind him piercing his hearth trough the steel armor. Suddenly she ducked avoiding one really big mace. It seemed one of the imperials had taken his opponent down and tried to surprise her from behind. She rotated to the left avoiding another hit and stabbed her opponent beneath his left elbow. His grip loosened and she kicked with her left leg the mace out of his hand. He looked at her with wide opened eyes unbelieving that this young woman in-front of him was so fast and precise with her sword. Elliora made a fast dive and ran her blade trough his ribs. After her opponent fell she scanned the room noticing that two more imperials were dead killed by the stormcloak next to her, she looked at where her companion ran to and saw Ralof and one of the remaining stormcloaks killing the remaining three legionnaires. Elliora, Ralof and the surviving two stormcloaks gathered at the other end of the room and Ralof asked:  
>-"What happened outside? Did his majesty escape with the rest, or are we the only one's remaining?"<p>

-"When the dragon appeared we all ran wherever we could. I believe i saw him with around twenty of our brethren heading for the north gate of the town."-a stormcloak woman answered him.  
>-"Good. Lets go. There is an old tunnel at the end of the dungeons that leads trough the mountain and to the road for Riverwood. We could find shelter there."-the stormcloaks nodded and the group started its way towards the said tunnel. After a while they entered in to a massive area that looked like a cave. Elliora saw a large door on on the other side of them that was wide opened and inside it she saw a cave tunnel. There were a few more legionnaires blocking their way.<p>

-"I will take the two on the right, you and your friends take the three on the left!"-she shouted because there was another small earthquake and a loud bang in the cave. She rushed at the soldiers, not paying attention anymore to the others. She jumped between them parrying the sword of her foe on her left side kicking at the same time the soldier on her right in the stomach sending him rolling in the dirt, after that she swung her weapon at the throat of the soldier who was still standing. He dropped quickly, and she turned her attention to the imperial who had already gotten up backing away slowly. She kneeled and pulled out a dagger from the man she had just killed and made her way towards the backing soldier. He attacked with a flurry of simultaneous attacks, but her superior training allowed her to block them with ease. Elliora countered with her own flurry and the man started to panic. His attacks couldn't even hit her coat, but she had already made a few light cuts on his body and arms. Suddenly she lunged herself at him closing the gap between them, pushed his sword with her own to the right, swirled her body on the left and nailed her dagger under his jaw. He dropped dead instantly. Pulling her new dagger out of him Elliora turned her attention to the other survivors. There was only one stormcloak left alive except Ralof now. She nodded to them and they made their way forward. Just as Elliora and Ralof had made their way past the door the earth shook violently and the ceiling caved in behind them burying alive the last stormcloak. Ralof cursed with a shout. At the end of the small corridor there was a lever and a wooden drawbridge. After they crossed the bridge they found themselves in a tunnel.

-"Finally! It should take us around 2 days until we reach the exit."-Ralof told her.

-"Allright, let's not waste anymore time then."-she answered.  
>Elliora picked some wood from around her, pulled down her cloak and started slicing it apart. After she finished with the ripping she started making torches. When they were ready both she and Ralof lighted one torch each and started their journey in to the dark tunnel. After a couple of hours Elliora opened her mouth:<p>

-"I suggest we find a place without so much moisture and rest or get some sleep. It must be nighttime outside by now. I believe its been around two or three hours since we entered this gods forsaken cave."

-"If my memory serves me right the next section of the tunnel has a few holes and it's not so suffocating."-Ralof told her.  
>After a while they entered a small cave and Elliora felt a small breeze.<p>

-"I suggest that we sleep on shifts, noone knows what creatures may be dwelling in here."-Ralof suggested.

-"You've got a point. Alright, i take first watches, you take seconds." Ralof shrugged and layed down near the cave wall. When they were properly rested they continued forward. They traveled the rest of the way without unexpected surprises, and soon after around two days crawling, slipping and often trippings Elliora felt a strong wind running trough the narrowed tunnel. Not long after she saw a light and rushed towards it. They were standing on hilltop just below the mountain. In the distance below she saw a big river, and beyond it a large mountain chain. It was around noon she noticed. Ralof and Elliora started their way down the hill walking towards the road ahead. All of a sudden a big shadow swept over them, and they both ran towards the trees. Elliora scanned the skies and saw the giant dragon that had attacked Helgen.

-"It seems he didn't notice us. I wonder what is it doing still here after tree days?"-she murmured to herself. The dragon made a fast sweep over the area and flew over the mountains to the north.

-"I have no idea if we are the only ones that survived, but we better move quick, this place will be swarming with imperials after news of what happened reach the near garrisons." Elliora nodded and they continued forward for the main road.


	2. Chapter 2

_**Declaration:I do not own Skyrim nor it's charracters. I only own Elliora Silvereye.**_

_**So hello again. This is the second chapter of my story. I will tell you a few more thigns about my charr.**_

_**First-Dragon language. – She will learn full sentences when a dragon shrine is found, not just a word.**_

_**Second- dragon souls – the dragon souls will make her able to understand the dragon language thereafter she will be able to use the dragon magic she is finding along her jorney. Also the dragon souls will be changing her physical appearance , her strength intelligence and lore of the world. Becouse face it – in the game u absorb and all you learn are few words ? Come on, i think this way it will be cooler . **_

_**Health potions-in my story healt potions will not heal wounds, they will regenerate blood verry fast and will stop severe bleedings only. I just dont like the idea of writing – she drank a health potion-in the middle of a battle and oopsie, she is as good as new- it's just unnatural.**_

_**Also my story will have many dialogues that are made by me(and some dialogues will be remade by me also)**_

_**I will be inserting some middle ages style songs in it. Afcourse i will use the few songs that u can listen ingame also. **_

_**One detail - when i type imperial with "I" i am refering at the race, when i type it with "i" i refer at the occupation.  
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_**So anyway, enjoy and review .**_

_**Chapter two : From Riverwood to Whiterun.**_

It took Elliora and Ralof around 10 minutes until they reached the main road leading to Riverwood and the mountain valley. Rolaf turned towards Elliora:

-"It is about four days walk until the village! My sister Gerdur lives in Riverwood, she will be able to shelter us for a couple of days."

-"Alright, let us find some food first and then we can continue on!"-Elliora answered.

Ralof nodded and they made their way towards the river on the other side of the road. Elliora spotted two rabbits near it.

-"Do you have a dagger on you?"-she asked.

-"Yes, why ?"-Ralof asked curiously. But drew his dagger nevertheless and handed it to her.

Elliora took it with her left hand and draw her own with her right. Then she threw them simultaneously killing both rabbits at the same time.

-"There, now we have food at least for two days, after that we will have to hunt something again."

At their third day of traveling they killed a deer, so at least they had no problems with being hungry. On the fourth they were ambushed by a pak of four starving wolves and in the middle of the battle one managed to bite Elliora in the left hand.

-"Oblivion take them, this damned mutt almost bit a whole chunk of meat from my hand."-She exclaimed while wrapping her arm with a spare sheet of cloth left from her cloak. –"It's been four days since we left the mountain, the village must be near now."- and just as she said it she saw a huge wooden wall in the distance. It took them five minutes to close in on the village gate.

-"Strange, there are no soldiers or guards at the walls. It's been around five days since the events in Helgen but it is as if no-one still knows what has happened. Maybe we are the only ones that have survived ."-Elliora commented.

-"Come, this way, to the lumber-mill. My sister works there. She will tell us if any news have been heard."-Ralof told her after they passed trough the gates. The village wasn't very big. Elliora estimated that it had around ten-fifteen thousand occupants. They neared the lumber-mill and Ralof sprinted towards it shouting his sister's name.

-"Gerdur, where are you?"

A tall blonde woman turned towards the shouts:

-"Ralof, what in the gods names are you doing here? And what has happened to you? You look like you are coming from a long battle."

-"Let me just rest a little and i will explain everything."-Ralof answered. Gerdur turned towards the mill:

-"Hod come here, will you?"

All of a sudden a boy appeared :

-"Uncle Ralof, uncle Ralof it's soooo nice to see you. Can I see your axe? How many Imperials have you killed?"-the boy started asking enthusiastically. Gerdur turned towards him:

-"Not now son, go to the main gate and watch for legionaries."

-"Ooooh, but i want to see uncle Ralof. I want to hear about the battles he's fought."

-"Hahaha, look at you , you have grown so much. Almost a real man, it won't be long before you are joining the fight yourself my boy."-Ralof told him. The boy beamed and said:

-"I am going to watch the gate. Don't worry Uncle, I will not let those imperials catch you!"-and he ran off.

-"Now, tell me what has happened to you, and who is this girl you are bringing with you!"-Gerdur asked calmly.

-"This is my friend Elliora Sylvereye, if it wasn't for her i would probably be dead now."-Ralof told his sister.

-"I heard a rumor that the imperials had captured Ulfric Sotrmcloak. I thought you had died at their hands."-the sister remarked.

-"Yes, the imperial dogs ambushed us at the border with Hammerfell. That was around a week ago. They were going to execute us in Helgen. Damn scum. They can't put the King to trial because every true nord knows he took the title of "High King" fair and square, and if they trial him, only more will join the fight against them."-Ralof told her with venom in his words. –"Actually they were about to behead us when all of a sudden a dragon appeared and started destroying the town. We made our escape in the panic. It is strange that no news have arrived yet."-he quirked his eyes.

-"What about King Ulfric, did he manage to escape out alive ?"-Gerdur asked.

-"I am sure he did. It will take more than a dragon to put down Ulfric Strmcloak."-Ralof said proudly.-"I wanted to ask you if you could shelter us for a couple of days so we can rest and restore our strength? After that i will take the road for Windhelm and rejoin the war."

-"Of course i will, but someone needs to send word to the Jarl of Whiterun about this dragon."-his sister told him.

-"I can do that. It is the least i can do for the kindness you are showing me. I was even on my way there before this unhappy event happened."-Elliora promised. –"Anyhow, i really could use a bath. Is there anywhere i can clean myself?"

-"Come, come. I will make dinner, and u can take a bath until i cook it."-The older woman said, and made her way towards the eastern side of the village. When they entered the house they made their way towards the second floor, there Gerdur pulled out a steel bathtub, filled it with water and lit a small fire beneath it:

-"The water will be ready after around fifteen minutes, don't extinguish the fire, it is not big enough to boil the water. I will go and start the dinner now. When you are ready come down and join us!"

-"Allright, thank you again!"-said Elliora as the older woman was leaving the room.

When the water was ready Elliora undressed herself and slowly entered the tub.

"Ahhhhh, this feeling is godly. Feels like ages since i last took a warm bath"she thought to herself.

When she finished bathing she redressed herself and made her way to the first floor. The dinner was already set and everyone was at one big table near the fireplace. Gerdur had made roast chicken with all kinds of vegetables, and some-kind of stew with pork. Elliora seated herself in-front of Ralof.

-"Ralof i would like you to explain to me the situation with this civil war. I never heard of such a thing in my travels near the borders of Hammerfell. It seems the Empire is trying to keep those matters quiet."-Elliora explained. Ralof looked at her and started talking:

-"It all started when the Emperor accepted the terms of surrender the Thalmor gave him. After he signed the treaty he allowed them to start anti-Talos campaigns all around the Empire. Most of the Jarls weren't too happy about it. After all, the claims of the Thalmor desecrated some of our most sacred traditions and believes. The great Talos – also known as Tiber Septim, and the founder of the empire was such a great hero that when he died the nine divines made him a god and their leader. But the Thalmor don't recognize him as such, and when they started their campaign in Skyrim, Jarl Ulfric made a petition to High King Torygg to do something about it. The king didn't listen to him, and then the Jarl challenged him to a duel for the Throne. When the battle started Jarl Ulfric used the powers of "The Voice" and shredded the king to pieces. Then he fled the capital and started this rebelion for independent Skyrim. Every true nord brother and sister are always welcomed among the ranks of the stormcloaks."-Ralof finished his explanation, looking at her with expectation.

-"I didn't plan on waging any wars when i started my journey to the homeland."-Elliora said. Ralof tried to open his mouth but she raised her hand:-"However, after what transpired at the border, and then in Helgen, i am itching for payback at those imperial retards. Also i have a great hatred towards the Thalmor and the Emperor. So when i finish my business in Whiterun, i will see my options and maybe i will join the Stormcloaks in Windhelm."-she noted, and Ralof looked pleased. –"The thing that bothers be the most is that dragon. Dragons haven't been seen for thousands of years as i have heard. Why are they coming now?"-Everyone in the room was quiet.

When they finished dining, Gerdur showed her to one spare bed near the kitchen and said:

-"Tomorrow i will prepare some dried meat and some spices in a bag, I will be working at the mill so we probably won't meet before you go on your way. You can travel the road to the north, you will get there after around a week. You can't miss the city, it is one of the biggest in Skyrim and it is positioned on a gigantic hill. Good night and have a nice sleep!"-and she went upstairs to her own room.

"_Time for some well deserved comfy sleep_."-Elliora thought and fell asleep almoust instantly. She dreamed a strange dream. She was on a battlefield. It was gory. There were decapitated bodies everywhere. Some had no arms, others were thorn to pieces, there were body parts everywhere and the ground was soaked in blood. The skies were shadowed by gigantic flying figures that were constantly spewing torrents of infernal fires upon the human army below them. Then the dream shifted and she was no more on the battlefield. She was on the top of a mountain. There were dragons circling the mountaintop but they paid no attention to her. Only one black behemoth noticed her and landed in-front of her. He looked her in the eyes and she recognized him. It was the same dragon that had burned Helgen to the ground.

-"_**DOVAHKIIN**_!"-he shouted with rage and spew a torrent of fire at her.

The world turned upside down and she awoke with sweat dripping down her forehead and ears. She didn't remember much from her dream, but two words were still echoing in her head – Dovahkiin and Alduin. She didn't know why but the name Alduin (at-least she presumed it was a name) made her shiver! She turned to one side and fell asleep again forgetting almost everything she had dreamed about.

When she came to, it was already around noon. She got up and went in the kitchen. As promised Gerdur had stuffed a woolen bag with provisions for at-least a part of her journey, also she had placed a dish with different fruits for breakfast. Elliora ate the so said breakfast, took the bag, strapped her sword on her left tight, took the woolen bag and made her way out of the house towards the north village gate.

_"I hope the Jarl takes the dragon threat seriously and sends soldiers here. It will be tragic if another village is burned to the ground along with it's habitants. Too bad the Mage's guild doesn't exist anymore. They could have probably done something about the dragon_."-Eliora thought grimly. The mage's guild was disbanded when the Altmeri Dominion's armies had taken the Imperial City. The only magic academy she knew about was the Mages College in Winterhold. But as she had heard in Hammerfell from travelers, the mages in the college were treated as outcasts because of somekind of incident that had happened there. If the rumors were true almost the whole Winterhold was buried by the sea at the mage's falt. It was rumored that someone from the college had tried to summon daedra on the grounds of the city."_Damned idiots, after the Oblivion crisis two hundred years, people think mages would think twice before they start trying to create another one."-_she thought grimly.

The guard at the gate noded to her, removed the wooden blog and opened the gate.

"_Ah, on the road again_."-Elliora sighed. The wound on her left arm was hurting more now. She checked it for infections. It seems she had luck and the it wasnt infected yet. "_I must get this hand checked if i find a mage or a healer in Whiterun. Hopefully it won't get infected and i won't have to cut off_ my_ arm_." She continued her path. After a while she began humming and old song:

"_**I mar adel, i amar nu. –"**Home Is Behind, The World Ahead_._**  
><strong>**Raid evyr a phadad (ammen). **And There Are Many Paths To Tread**  
>Trî dhúath, nan rîw môr nalú <strong>Through Shadow, To The Edge Of Night**  
><em>Ir sílar in elenath bain. <em>**__Until The Stars, Are All Alrigth_._**  
>Hîth a dúath, fân a dû! <strong> Mist And Shadow, Cloud And Shade**  
>Bain pelithar, pelithar bai!". <strong>__All Shall Fade... Aaaaaaall Shaaaaal...Fade_!"

At the third day of her journey her food rations were gone, and she was forced to hunt again. She didn't need much food to keep her going, so she hunted only small crittens. On the fifth day a merchant with an escort of one bodyguard caught up with her.

-"Greetings good sir!"-Elliora greeted.-"Are you by any chances headed towards Whiterun?"

-"Greetings milady. I am indeed headed towards Whiterun, but forgive my curiosity – why are you interested where I am headed?"-he asked carefully and she noticed that the bodyguard had placed a hand on his sword.

-"Do not fear me , if i wanted to rob you, you and your friend would be dead already."-she said calmly moving towards the armed man. The bodyguard's arm moved fast trying to pull his sword out but then he froze. Elliora's sword was already touching his throat. He gulped loudly and slowly pulled his arms towards the sky. She smirked and withdrew her weapon sheeting it. The guard and the merchant both looked startled, then the mercenary (or whatever he was) lowered his hands.

-"As i said, i mean you no harm, i am asking because i am headed towards the city as well, and i could use some company along the way. I can even protect you if the need arises. Free of charge of course, if you let me ride on the wagon with you."-she said with a thin smile. It seemed the trader was rethinking his options and after a few seconds he nodded:

-"Alright, forgive me for that little incident, the number of bandits in the regions are increasing by the minute because of the war between the Stormcloaks and the Imperial Legion. It seems you can also back-up your words young lady, and who am i to discard a freely offered blade at my services. You are welcome to join us until Whiterun."-the merchant told her.

Elliora pulled her bag from her back and jumped enthusiastically at the backside of the wagon. She heard a little noise, like glass hitting glass.

-"What are your wares mister?"-she asked curiously. He looked back at her:

-"i trade with all kinds of potions, perfumes and jewelry."-his tone was very businesslike all of a sudden.

-"Would you happen to have a sewing needle and some thread ?"-Elliora asked hopefully. The merchant looked at her curiously. –"My left hand was bitten by a wolf a few days ago. It is still not infected so i was hoping to sew it up."

The man took a bag out and checked it's content. He pulled out a sharp and thin needle and some thread, and passed them to her. Elliora thanked him and began working on her wound.

The bodyguard didn't say a word at the entire exchange but when she started working on her arm he closed the distance between his horse and the wagon and asked her:

-"You have very fast reflexes milady, may I ask where have you learned the way's of the sword?"

-"I have studied with the masters in Hammerfell most of my life, then i started tuning my skills by traveling across Tamriel and offering my talents as a mercenary."-she answered without looking at him. The guard's eyes became wide open. He whistled. "_No wonder i felt goosebumps when she nearly sliced my throat_."-he thought. The population of Hammerfell - the Redguards were Tamriel's most renown sword-masters. No other race had such fearsome sword techniques and underwent such extensive training like them.

They reached Whiterun two days after their encounter. It was Middas when they reached the city. Elliora was breath-taken when she saw the gigantic city. It's walls were stretched three kilometers to each side from the center of the city which was a huge hill with a great palace at the top. "_This is silly! The inhabitants are probably nearing around three or four hundred thousand . This city is almost as big as the Imperial City, i can't even imagine what the Capital looks like now_!"-she thought to herself.

All of a sudden the ground shook violently.

-"In the name of Oblivion, don't tell me the damned dragon is here!"-she cursed loudly jumping from the wagon. The merchant and the bodyguard were looking at her shocked.

-"Dragon? What dragon young lady? Dragons are dead for thousands of years. Have you hurt your head when you were fighting these wolves you spoke of?"-the merchant asked alarmed and worried.

Elliora made a fast sweep of the surroundings lands with her yes. And then she saw the cause of the earthshake. A gigantic humanoid figure was surrounded by five smaller humanoids(nord's by the looks of them) and was swinging a giant club all around him.

-"God's preserve us, what is a Giant doing so close to the city walls, Bron(that was the bodyguard's name) lets hurry and go inside the city."-shouted the merchant, scared out of his pants.

One of the giant's swings hit true and someone from the group was send flying and crushing down on the ground ten meters from the clash. Elliora pulled her sword and ran with full speed towards the giant and the warriors. The giant saw her and swung his club faster than she ever thought possible. She had to drop on the ground to dodge the deadly hit. A nord woman with a bow took the opportunity given her by the giant's distraction and shot an arrow in his elbow making him drop his club. Elliora was already on her feet and lunged with her sword at the giants knee slicing him below the kneecap with a strong swing severing his tendons. The giant howled from pain and crumbled with a thundering force on the ground. She then jumped on his belly and went for his throat, but all of a sudden she was hurled in the air with all of her breath forced out of her. She fell five meters from the giant shaking and trying to force some air in her lungs.

"_Damn my carelessness, how could i forget the second hand, i acted foolhardy after seeing him on the ground, my arrogance may had cost me at-least three broken ribs, i only hope my lungs aren't pierced_"-she scolded herself inwardly. She hurried herself back on her feet, and saw that the party of warriors had finished off their target. They were making their way towards her now.

-"Hey, you 'kay there ?"-asked a strong looking nord with black short beard.-"Got anything broken? Giants are known for their unbelievable strength with which they can crush even rocks."- after he saw that she was keeping herself steady on her feet he continued:-"The name's Vilkas by the way, me and my companions are part of the "Companions". It has a strange sound when i put it that way!"-he said amused.

-"I'm fine for the most part of it. I think i may have a broken rib or two, but they could be only bruised, i have hard bones. Who are or what are the Companions by the way?"-Elliora asked.

-"We "The Companions" are an order of warriors. We are brothers and sisters in honor, and we show up to solve problems if the coin is good enough".-the man explained.

Elliora made a few stretchings along with a few painful moans:

–"No, nothing broken thank the gods. Could have sworn i had something broken when i landed though. Nevermind me, what in Oblivion is a giant doing so close to the city?"-she asked astonished.

-"I believe it is because of a band of bandits that lurk around these parts. They have been killing the giant's mammuths and they are getting restless and angry. They aren't very smart so i think they believe the city people are responsible. At-least that is what i think."-he scratched his beard and turned to the woman with the bow who had stopped beside them. She took full look at Elliora:

-"You can hold your own, and by the looks of it you are made from quite the sturdy material, surviving a giant's full-strength punch without anything broken, i am pretty amazed! We are a part of the "Companions", we take our residence in Jorrvaskr in Whiterun, if you need some gold or want to try joining our ranks, you are welcomed there. My name is Aela by the way, mention my name or Vilkas's and they will let you go inside. But now it is time we part ways, we have some work to take care of. Farewell and may the divines be with you."-Aela said dramatically and the Companions left, carrying their fallen comrade.

Elliora looked at them go, then she took another look at the giant. "_Something is not right with me, i am hundred and one percent sure my ribs were broken, my chest hurts like hell but i don't feel that anything is broken, what in oblivion is going on here. Only strange things have been happening to me since i came back in Skyrim_."-she thought grimly and made her way towards the city at a distance of around a hundred meters behind the Companions. A sudden realisation dawned on her "_Damn it, i forgot my bag in the wagon_." She tried to find the trader but it seemed he had already entered the city. "_I'll never find him now_."-she thought sadly. "_After i report the news to the Jarl i should look if anyone needs the services of a mercenary_._I need to make some cash, can't continue living in the woods like a wildwoman_". She was nearing the city. The walls were huge, around fourteen meters tall, and by the looks of it they were verry wide too. There were guards in yellow steel plate armors patroling along them everywhere. There were also archers in what it seemed to be chail mails, also with yellow tabards. All of the soldiers had on their chests a crest with the form of a large shield with a horsehead in the middle.

One of the guards on the gateway raised his hand when he saw her:

-"Halt. Who are you and what business do you have in Whiterun. We do not let everyone inside of the city on a whim, at-lest not now in these times of war."-he said strictly.

-"I have news for the Jarl about Helgen."-Elliora answered. The guard's eyes became wide open:

-"If what you say is true we will finally know what happened there, there are rumors that a dragon razed the town to the ground. Most of us do not believe such stories but strange winds are blowing across the land. Alright, you may pass traveler."-the guard shouted to someone behind the walls and the steelgate started to open. The sight beyond was mesmerizing. There were wide straight streets, stores, houses two or more storeys high. It seemed the city was divided in two sections. The outer section including the wall, was where the barracks, keeps and the most common folk lived . This part was where most of the merchants traded their goods. The second part of the city was where an inner circle was created around the pallace, it seemed the more wealthy folk and nobles were living there. And at the top of the hill was with no doubt the palace of the Jarl, it's size commendable. If memory served her right the palace's name was Dragonsreach, named that way centuries ago when Olaf-One-Eye imprisoned the dragon Numinex there. The people of the city had added a stone prison after that and there-after named it like that. She was in the industrial section she noticed. There were smithies, carpenters, bow-makers and many other traders all around her. She started her way towards the center of the city. It took her a good couple of hours ,because the streets were overcrowded, until she reached the streets where the more expensively build buildings started popping out. Here the crowd was starting to disperse and she could walk more at ease without constantly dodging people carrying expensive trade goods or furniture. She was nearing the staris leading towards the palace when she noticed a large fountain surrounded by a small garden with lots of benches. She turned towards it to take a look at it, and then she saw a nord man dressed in a shiny imperial garment talking to an imperial woman which was dressed like a blacksmith talking in-front of a very fine looking smithy. "Hmm, must be a prosperous smith."Elliora thought. She stopped near them and started eavesdroppping. The soldier was just saying:

-"We'll pay whatever it takes. But we must have those swords ready for the imperial soldiers."

-"Alright, i will try my best but i am not making any promises, swords are not forged in an hour you know."-answered the woman. The male nodded and left on to his business. The woman turned her attention to Elliora. –"Greetings there, what can i do for you ?"-she asked politely.

-"Sorry, but i overheard your conversation. Are there any imperial troops stationed here?"-Elliora asked. The blacksmith woman narrowed her eyes a litle:

-"There aren't any stationed in Whiterun, the Jarl is keeping an neutral position so far in the war. Also i may be an imperial but i do not have a side in this war. Actually i am against the presence of the legion in Skyrim, this war is a domestic problem and the empire will only be at a loss fighting it's own people instead of fighting the Aldmeri Dominion. My profession is a blacksmith, so when someone pays me for supplies i do not ask questions. I have to make a living after all."

-"It seems you are doing pretty good for an Imperial in a nord city and at times as these."-Elliora was looking at the large smithy behind them. –"Excuse my rudeness, i didn't introduce myself. The name is Elliora, they also call me „Silvereye", i believe you understand why."-she said with a glint of a smile.

-"I am Adrianne Avenicci. And i dont claim to be the best blacksmith in Whiterun, Eourlund Gray-Mane's works are legendary, but i am quite capable and it shows."-then she seemed to think about something and stared at Elliora. –"Are you by any chances going towards the palace?"-she asked.

-"Yes, I am, i have some business with the Jarl."-Elliora answered. –"Why do you ask?"

-"My father Proventus Avenicci is Jarl Balgruuf's advisor. I have made a gift- a sword to be exact-for the Jarl and i need to deliver it to him, but i am too busy, could you please deliver it for me? My father will pay for your service."-Adrianne pleaded hopefully.

-"Consider it done. Just give me the package!"-Elliora answered and waited for the woman to go in to the smithy and take the gift. She returned after a couple of minutes with a long and thin sword wrapped in wool cloth bound with rope. Elliora started her way towards the stairs leading to the palace. The stairway was very long, she estimated that it will take her about ten minutes until she reaches the top. "_The founder of the city must have been an energetic person if he made stair instead of a nice and easyly walked on road towards the hilltop_."-she commented to herself. She noticed a small stream going under the stairway as she kept climbing it. "_Must be an underwater river inside of the hill. The founder knew what he was doing, a city with it's own water source and right in the center of the country, no wonder it is so prosperous and glorious_.".

When she finally made it to Dragonsreach the sunset was nearing. There was a short bridge leading to the palace gate. The gate was guarded by four guards in steel plate armors with long shields in their left hands, and sheathed long swords hanging on their hips. One of them knocked of the door and it opened letting her pass trough. She found herself in a large hall leading to many corridors on the sides, in-front of her was a big stairway leading to the throne hall. She climbed the stairs and entered the throne hall which was guarded by two more guards. The throne was placed at the end of the hall, in-front of it was a very large table. The Jarl was seated on the throne and was surrounded by few people. One on his right side was an imperial male around his late fifties, there was also a large nord with a huge two-handed sword strapped on his back and a female Dunmer(dark elf) on his left side. She had the stance of an experienced fighter, and she noticed that she was scanning often the large room with her eyes. Elliora made her way towards the Jarl. It seemed that he was having an important conversation with his advisor. The dark elven woman raised her hand and spoke:

-"I am Irileth the Jarl's housecarl. What is the meaning of this interruption? Jarl Belgruuf is not receiving any visitors."-she told Elliora with an intimidating tone.

-"I bring news about the dragon attack in Helgen."-Elliora stood her ground unfazed by the hostility of the elf.

-"Well, that explains why the guards let you in. Allright, the Jarl will want to speak with you personaly."-the dunmer backed away. The Jarl turned his attention at her:

-"Soo.. you were at Helgen? Did you see the dragon with your own eyes ?"-he demanded.

-"Yes! It destroyed Helgen, and was headed this way last time i saw it."-she answered.-"The imperials were going to execute Ulfric Stormcloak when the dragon attacked." The jarl jerked a little in his seat:

-"I shoud have guessed Ulfric would be mixed in all of this."-he snarled, and turned his head towards the advisor:-"What do you say now Proventus? Do you still think walls can still keep us safe? Against a dragon?"

-"My lord, we must send troops in Riverwood this isntant, we can't leave the villagers to fend for themselves! If the dragon is lurking in the mountains they could be in great danger."- Irileth remarked. The advisor interupted her:

-"The Jarl of Falkreath will see that as a provocation. He may assume you are preparing to join Ulfric's side and attack him."

-"Enough!"-the Jarl commanded. -"I will not stand idly while a dragon ravages my lands and slaughters my people. Irileth send a full garrison of six-thousand soldiers to Riverwood immediately."

-"Yes my Jarl!"-Irileth bowed and left. The advisor bowed also:

-"If you'll excuse me, i'll return to my duties."-he said and went towards a desc standing behind him. The Jarl turned his attention back at Elliora:

-"Well done. You sought me out on your own initiative. You have done Whiterun a service, and i will not forget it. Here take this as a small token of my esteem."-he waved to one of his serving maids and she brought a linen backpack. The backpack had strange inscriptions on it, and after seeing the puzzlement in Elliora's eyes he spoke: -"The pack is magical, it can store twenty times more items in it than a normal one. I belive it will be of some use to you."

Elliora bowed to the Jarl and took the backpack, but it seemed he wasnt done with her:

-"There is another thing you could do for me. Suitable for someone with your particular talents, perhaps. Come, let us find Farengar, my court wizzard. He has been looking in to a matter related to these dragons and ... rumors of dragons."-he said and got up from his throne. Belfgruuf went towards a small door on the right wall. He opened it and Elliora found herself in a mediumlarge room filled with bookshelfs, scrolls and all kinds of potions. In the middle of the room was a large table with a man dressed in blue robes seated in a chair on it. The Jarl then returned to his duties leaving her alone with the mage. The roobed man stood up and looked at her:

-"What? Came to Dragonsreach to discuss the ongoing hostilities like the rest of the „great warriors"?"-he asked skeptically.

Elliora knew instantly that she wouldn't become best of friends with that person. He as arrogant, probably deservingly if he was a court wizzard at a time where mages were thought as outcasts in Skyrim, but still she hated arrogant people. She crossed hear hands on her chest and answered:

-"The Jarl said you are making some kind of project related to the dragons and that you need help with it." The mage looked at her with interesting sparkle in his eyes:

-"So, tha Jarl thinks you could be of use to me?Oh yes, he must be referring to my research in to the dragons."-he started talking looking like he wasnt even seeing her in the room. –"Yes, i could use someone to fetch something for me."-Elliora narrowed her eyes. The mage flinched and said hurriedly:-"Now, now dont give me such scary looks. By fetch i realy mean diving in to a dangerous ruin in search of an ancient stone tablet that may or may not be there." Elliora smiled wickedly:

-"Allright, this may prove to be an interesting expirience. Where am I goind and what am I fetching?"-she always enjoyed the thought of challenge, and exploring an ancient tomb filled with only gods know what traps and creatures made her blood boil with excitement.

-"Straight to the point, eh? No need for tedious hows and whys. I like that."-the mage remarked.-"I, ah, learned of a certain stone tablet said to be housed in Bleak Falls Barrow – a „Dragonstone," said to contain a map of dragon burial sites. SO, go to the barrow, find the tablet- it is supposed to be in the main chamber- and bring it to me. Simlicity itself, dont you think? I will trust in the judjement of the Jarl and give you some gold for traveling expenses. The Bleak Falls Barrow is lokaded near the mountain across Riverwood. Goodbye and good luck."-said the wizzard and turned his back on her.

"Well, that was productive. Atleast they thought to give me some currence so i could stock myself with provisions. Now time to find me a nice and cozy inn."-Elliora thought to herself and left the mage's room.


	3. Chapter 3

_**DECLARATION:I do not own Skyrim or oany of it's charracters, i own only the personalityof the Hero.**_

_**Some info again : Currency – The currency will not be only in gold. Come on – you would think the empire iss wimming in gold if all the currency they have is GOLD. – My story will have copper and silver also, but don't worry it won't be 100 copper = 1 silver :D. They will be individual. Copper is copper, silver is silver, gold is gold – a litle explanation– a normal meal in a tavern will be around a hundred copper, or two or three silver – one room could be from 5-10 silver to one-two gold for night –Got my meaning ? No ? Well nevermind , ignore the currency then :D.**_

_**And one other thing- you will understand it when you read the chapter – Akavari Swords in looks are just like Japanese Katanas.**_

_**Chapter three: Golden Dragon Claw and restless Undead.**_

Elliora entered the Great Hall and headed towards the desk on which the advisor was working on. Avenicci took a look at her just as she was unbounding the wrapped sword from her back. She put the cloth away and layed the sword in-front of him. „_Nice work on the sheath_!"-she thought when she saw, the silver inscribed with golden words, scabbard. Avenicci was a little surprised when he saw the sword but he pulled himself pretty fast:

-„Ah, so you have met my daughter I see, and you have brought the gift for the Jarl. I am very pleased!"-he said and pulled out a coin purse, pulling a few gold coins-„Here! For the delivery."-he stretched his hand expectantly. Elliora took the coins and bowed:

-„Very generous of you, giving gold coins for a simple delivery."-she told him.

-„Ah! Forgive me! But I was passing outside the mage's quarters and overheard a part of your conversation. And I wanted to contribute a little in this mission for finding the story behind this dragon appearance."-he said sincerely.

-„Your help is well appreciated. I can guarantee for that!"-Elliora told him with a faint smile.-„Well, my work here is done for the time being. I will be taking my leave, and try to find an inn with a free room and take a rest before i start my journey for Riverwood tomorrow morning."-she bowed again and turned towards the exit.

It was dark outside already. She made her way down the stairs and towards where she had met Adrianne. There were way fewer people on the streets this time. Most of them, she noticed, were young couples or lovers, and judging from what she saw most were from the upper classes of society. Elliora made her way towards the „Warmaiden"-that was the name of Adrianne's smithy. When she reached the building, she noticed that the female blacksmith was seated in a bench in-front of her workplace, and went towards her. Adrianne heard her foot steppes and raised her head. After seeing who it was she opened her mouth:

-„I see you have finished your work in the palace. And i hope you delivered the sword?"-she said hopefully.

-„Yes, I did what i had to do. The Jarl was grateful enough i suppose, gave me an enchanted backpack. And yes, I delivered the sword to your father. He was quite generous in-fact!"-Elliora answered with a glint of a smile. –„Actually i came to buy some throwing knives. Do you have any in stock? I need a few."

-„You are in luck, i just finished an order not a couple of days ago, but the merchant was killed by bandits and i didn't get paid, and the weapons are in the storage."-she got up and waved Elliora to follow her inside.

The „Warmaiden" wasn't what she had expected inside, the front door led them inside a large room filled with all-kinds of weapons placed in especially designed racks. In the far end, in the middle, of the room there was something that looked like a reception desk. A broad shouldered man was standing behind it.

-„This is my husband Ulfberd. Ulfberd meet Elliora!"-she introduced them to one another. –„Ulf, could you please bring the chest with the silver throwing knives from the storage?"-her husband nodded and left them alone. After a while, Ulfberd opened the door with a kick and entered the room carrying a large chest filled knives and daggers.

-„All-right, Elliora you are free to examine the goods, we will talk price later if you want to purchase any of them."-Adrianne told her in a businesslike tone. Elliora nodded and begun browsing trough the chest.

Elliora noticed that the throwing knives weren't crafted in standard shapes. The edges were triangled, slightly curved –„_Perfect for breaking wind resistance_"-she thought, the handles were tight, where the edge began, getting more larger at the end with a small hole in them, big enough to put one finger in them, two in her case. „_These can be throwed with much more force than the usual knives. I am definitely buying them, even if they cost me the extra gold her father gave me. Anyway i suppose i will need them where i am going. Only the gods know what beasts have made their way inside these old ruins iam supposed to go in_." She took eight knives, the number she had before the imperials confiscated her belongings, and put them on the reception desk. Adrianne raised an eyebrow:

-„Hmm you seem to have an eye for fine craftsmanship, these are a new prototypes i was experimenting with, but believe me, i know they are accurate, i have the habit of testing my crafts. If that is everything you will be purchasing, that will be two gold and thirty three silver."-she said.

Elliora detached her pouch from her belt, counted the said price and gave it to the blacksmith. Then she started attaching her new on her legs. When she was ready, she said her farewells with the shopkeepers and exited the smithy. She saw a city-guard passing near her and decided to ask him for a good inn to spend the night in. She tapped him on the shoulder:

-„Excuse me, could you point me towards a acceptable inn? It is my first time in the city and i do not know my way around."-she asked for guidance. The guard thought for a moment and then answered:

-„"The Bannered Mare" -just outside east of the noble's residences- is a nice place. The food is always fresh, the folks are nice and friendly and they have comfortable beds and rooms, and the prices are acceptable."-he told her and went on with his patrolling. Elliora headed towards the pointed destination. The further she went from the inner circle towards the outher circle of buildings the less populated it was. After a good thirty minutes of walking she finaly made it to, what it looked like, some-kind of a small plaza surrounded by grocery-stores, the „Bannered Mare" inn and what it looked like a few alchemy stores. The Inn was the only lit place. It seemed like the owners of the stores were asleep already. She headed towards it hoping that there was a free room left for her to rent. When she entered she was surprised to see that only half the inn was full. There were few guards, around twenty town-folks, and a group of – what she thought looking at their equipment – mercenaries. The guards were only in yellow tunics with the city's crest so she suspected their shift had ended, the mercenaries on the other hand were dressed in all-kinds of different armors, but their weapons were stashed near the guard's table. She made her way towards the innkeeper which was a woman:

-„Good evening inkeeper, i would like to order some food – meat preferable – and i want to ask you if you have any spare rooms for the night?"-she said politely. The woman looked her from head to toe, noticing the sword on her hip and the many knives on her legs, startled a little when he saw her eyes, but then answered:

-„Are you a mercenary like those fel'as over there? I warn you not to make any incidents while you are here, the city guard is present as well!"-she pointed at the guards who were now looking at her curiously. Elliora raised her hands in middair in-front of her defensively:

-„Lol, easy woman, no need for threats, i am just looking for food and rest before i go on a mission for the Jarl."-she replied. The guards almost jumped from their seats in surprise, and the innkeeper looked a little shaken.

-„S..sorry milady, i didn't mean to insult a soldier of the Jarl. It's just that the times are bad, and i had a few very nasty incidents in my establishment already. The guards over there are personal friends of mine and i have asked them to wear their insignias when they visit my place, it helps keeping the peace. I'll tell the cook to prepare something right away, and i have a nice room on the second floor."-the the woman finaly stoped babbling. Elliora waved a hand:

-„No offence taken, and i am not exactly a soldier of the Jarl, just a capable hand doing an important task for him. Do not worry, I do not intend to cause any trouble here. Give me a big portion of the main course and a tankard of mead!"-she said heading towards one empty table near the windows.

Two minutes after she had seated herself a waitress brought her the mead along with a big plate with meat with various spices and chopped vegetables. She dug-in instantly. When she finished, she called the waitress and paid her three silver coins, then she went to the innkeeper.

-„Give me a room for one night, and i would also rent a bathtub"-she said.

-„That will be ten silver."-the other woman told her. Elliora paid and oe of the serving girls showed her the way towards her room. She took a warm bath and went to bed. „Tomorrow i'll have to rent a horse, i dont want to travel by foor all the way back to Riverwood. There goes another ten or twenty silver. I hope i have enough to buy provisions when i reach the village." She fell asleep with those thoughts.

The next morning she looked around the near stores for provisions, then she made her way towards a stables she had seen near the city gates. She rented a strong, young black steed and headed to Riverwood. The weather was cold, and the sky was cloudy. She followed the clouds with her eyes and saw that the wind was blowing them the same direction she was traveling to. „_I bet my ass that this Burrow, or whatever it's name was, will probably be somewhere in the mountais, and with this weather there is a big possibility that there will also be a blizzard in the high regions_."-she thought grimly. The mountain roads were usually dangerous, but if there was also a blizzard – they could be very deadly. „I'll have to ask the villagers if they know some safe paths in the mountain."

The first day of the journey passed normally. But around midday on the second day the weather became cold and small snow-storms began to fall. The hard weather delayed her around half a day making her reach her destination in the late evening. It was around nine o'clock and she decided to go straight for the inn. She strapped her horse in the small stable outside of it and made her way towards the door.

She felt warm air surrounding the instant she opened the door. The noises of heated chatter and relaxing music filled her ears. The inn was quite empty. There were only around twenty patrons. An Imperial woman and a male that had some similar traits, a woman round her 50's cleaning with a broom, a few townsfolk and some hunters – if she had guessed right about their cloths and the bows storaged near their table. She seated herself in an empty table near the two Imperials. She waved to the innkeeper and ordered some food and mead, then relaxed in her chair. The chatter between the Imperials next to her was heating up she noticed and she focused her hearing towards them.

-„Well one of us has to to something!"-the woman sounded angry. The man replied:

-„I said NO!NO adventures, NO theatrics, NO-thief chasing!"-the man was angrier.

-„Then what are you going to do about it huh? Lets hear it!"-the woman wasn't backing down.

-„We are done talking about this. It is gone ant that's it!"-he finished their conversation. The woman stood up and turned towards the door but Elliora stopped her:

-„Forgive me but i overheard your conversation!"-she started but was interrupted.

-„You and the whole inn, it is not like we were whisperig, i dont know how noone ran in here expecting to find someone slaughtered."-the Imperial woman said with an apologetic tone. The male just snorted.

-„What are those thieves you mentioned? And what did they steal from you that you want it back so desperately?"-Elliora asked them. They two Imperials exchanged looks and the woman took her seat back.

-„Ok, here is the deal. My name is Camilla Valrius and that is my brother Lucan. We own the local grocery-store. We had a break-in a couple of days ago."-she started but her brother interrupted her:

-„The strange thing is they didn't steal anything except an old ornament – a dragon claw made from solid gold. The thing is – i had many things that were worth much more than the claw was a gift from an old friend of mine. It meant very much to me!"-he told her with a saddened face.

-„Where did these robbers head to?"-Elliora asked him. He startled and his eyes widened, but he recovered quickly:

-„I head one of them mentioning Bleak Falls Barrow."-he told her. Now it was her eyes that widened in surprise but then she smiled wickedly:

-„What a coincidence! I have business in the old ruins myself. If i come across these thieves, I will make sure they return the claw. Willingly or not. The only problem is that i do not know the way to there. I was hoping someone in the village would be able to guide me towards the ruins."-she finished. Lucan jumped on his feet:

-„I will gladly point you towards them, you can even see them from here if there are no clouds on the mountain. I will show you ... no i will give you a map and i will draw the way for you."-his mood was completely changed. –„I'll be back in a few minutes."-he said and rushed out of the inn, gathering strange looks from everyone inside. He was back after two or three minutes holding a big piece of parchment. –„Here. I have marked the safest road to the Barrow. May i ask what business you have there?"-he asked curiously. Elliora pulled from the map and answered:

-„I have to get an item for Jarl Balgruuf from there. That is all i can tell you."-she said and turned her eyes back at the map. –„Say, did you manage to see how many the robbers were?"-she asked him. He thought for about a minute and looked at her:

-„I do not know for sure, i saw around eight inside, but Camilla told me she saw around fifteen more outside on the street. Look! I'm not foolhardy, i know i can't ask you to fight thirty men alone for a thing that is not very expensive either. I will pay you for the return of my property, but i will not blame you if you don't get it."-he told her. Elliora grinned:

-„Do not worry, a bunch of thieves will hardly be a problem for me. If i come across your claw, consider it returned."-then she took the map and placed it inside her backpack. –„Well, if you would excuse me, I need a bath and a warm bed. See you after my mission is done. Good night!"-and she strode off to rent a room.

When the morning came, the sky was a little clearer than the day before, but a small snow was still raining. Elliora mounted her steed and headed towards the road leading in to the mountains.

When she reached the mountain road she started humming to herself:

„Faar Oover... the misty mountains Cold...  
>To Dungeons Deep... and Caverns Old...<br>The Pines were Roaring ...ooooooon The Heights,  
>The Winds were Moaning ...iiiiin the Night...<br>The Fire was Red... it Flaaaming Spread...  
>The Trees Like Torches... Blazed.. with Light!"<p>

After half a day's journey she noticed large columns on the edge of a high cliff. „_There! Not far now_."-she thought. „_Hmm what did i read about old nord burial goround_?"-she pushed her mind trying to remember an ancient manuscript she had obtained from a dead mage a few years ago. „_If i am right, the ancient nords had dragon worshipers among them, they created most of the burial grounds with magic. So i must expect magical traps of somekind_."-she continued her way pondering. When she was about a hundred feet from the ruin, she unmounted and strapped her horse on a tree near the road. She heade towards the Barrow. After a couple of minutes she noticed foot-steppes in the snow. She lowered herself and continued forward. When she reached and old stairway, she saw them. Two men and a woman standing guard in-front of a massive iron door. The woman was wearing some kind of a leather armor and had a bow placed on her back. The two nords on her sides had large two-handed swords also strapped on their backs. Elliora decided to kill them silently and pulled three of her new throwing knives. She aimed and threw them with all the strength she could muster. The three bandits fell to the ground instantly with gurgling sounds. Elliora proceeded cautiously. She pulled her knives from the throats of the dead bodies. She took a look at the inscriptions on the door. They were pretty old and messed up, but she made out a part of a massive wing, and a human figure bowing down. „_Hmm, yes, it must be a toomb of the dragon worshipers. Damn my luck, why cant the damn artifact be in an normal civilized cemetary_!". She pushed the door and opened it. What greeted her inside were some fallen columns, lots of dust and – she noticed – a fireplace at the far end of the of the huge hall, near somekind of a corridor. There were five more bandids at the fireplace. She closed behind them silently hiding behind the columns. She heard them talking to eachother:

-„It's been ten hours since the others went down there with that damned fool. Do you think they have found the tresure and made a run for it trough some hidden passage?"-said the one closest to the corridor.

_„Treasure? Whatever treasures they had here must have been robbed centuries ago. Most of the ancient nord burial grounds are mapped and well known. What treasure can they be speaking about_?"-Elliora was interested now. She drew her sword quietly and pulled her dagger in her left hand-„I should have bought another sword."-she thought. She was good with a sword but her favorite fighting style was the „_Two heavens as one_" where she used two swords. She jumped behind two of them severing the head of one and stabbing the other in the neck. It took around seven seconds for the rest of them to comperhend what had jsut happened. They pulled their weapons and ran towards her. Elliora parried a wild swing from a huge battlehammer, then ducked hear head nearly avoiding an two-handed sword. The third man was still looking for his weapon. It seemed he was drunk and his coordination wasnt verry good. She rolled her sword in her hand and parried another swing from the sworded man, then moved a step back dodging the hammer and kicked it to one side. After that she lunged towards the man with the hammer repeling the huge thing on her right, rolled her body to the left and stabbed him with her knife under the armpit and straight to his heart. After she made sure he was dead by twisting the dagger a few times she returned her attention to the other two. The drung had picked his weapon – a long sword – and was trying to flank her on the left. The man with the big sword attaked her with couple of straight hits, probably relying that his strength will make her drop her weapon or atlest she would loose her balance. It didnt work. Elliora met his attacks gracefully parrying all of them. „The most efficient tactic against brute forced attacks is to counter them with small amount of force only enough to change their trajectory to the desired course."-she thought dodging an attack from the drunk. „I belive it's time to end this fight." She closed her distance with the sober worrior and attacked with a flurry of fast attacks, injuring him in the left leg and hand. He started to pant heavily. Elliora parried another straight hit-this time a lot weaker than before- then jumped over his head with her back turned at him, rolled her sword in her hand pointing the ednge towards his back and stabbed him with full force. The bandid staggered and fell to the ground. She turned her head towards the last survivor:

-„Tell me what are you looking for in here? What is this treasure you talked about? Tell me and i will let you live!"-she told him with ice cold voice and made a step towards the fire. The not so drunk anymore, man who had just watched this woman in-front of him kill four of his comrades was shaking in fear already, but when he saw her eyes(which were also reflecting the light of the fire in the dark hall) he lost it. He ran full-speed towards the exit throwing his weapon on the ground, but then he dropped dead on the ground with a knife in his heart. Elliora pulled her throwing knife and headed towards the corridor. „_Strange, this is supposed to be a tomb, but I do not sense the fragrance of dead or at-least mummified corpses. Even if they were buried a long time ago atleast the air has to be stuffy_." Something was not right in here and she could feel it.

She proceeded carefully trough the corridor, going deeper in to the crypt. Torches were lit everywhere and she noticed that the whole place was crawling with weed plants. After walking for about ten minutes she saw some kind of a doorway from which a large light was coming from. She quietly approached. The was standing at the door of large room filled with three small columns with animal shapes on them, an iron gate and some kind of a pedestal in the middle of the room. A large bandit was standing next to the pedestal with his back towards her. Elliora pulled her dagger and headed towards him silently. When she reached him she grabbed his head, putting her palm on his mouth and sliced his throat. The man fell to the ground without even making a sound. She then turned her attention at the iron gate. It didn't have a lock on it, neither was there a lever in the room also. She took a look the the pedestal in the middle of the room. Something was written on it but she couldn't understand it. She put her hand on it and it moved a little inwards. She removed her hand immediately afraid that she had activated some kind of a trap and instantly after that she ducked, avoiding a few small arrows that had been shot from the walls. „_Damn! Booby traps_!" she thought to herself. She took another look at the gate and noticed two animal figures carved in the stone above it. She also noticed that there was supposed to be a third carving but it seemed that it had been broken off. She turned and went to the nearest column. After a brief examination she discovered that they could be rotated in different directions. „_Maybe if i rotate all of them in the right positions the door will open_."-she thought to herself again. Elliora got to work. She took another look at the animals displayed above the gate. They were from right to left – a sea cow, the middle was missing and at the end was a snake. The columns had three animals each, sea cow, sake and a hawk. She decided to try with the combination of – sea cow, hawk and a snake. When she finished rotating them she pushed the pedestal again. And to her surprise she had to dodge another volley of arrows. „_Damn them to oblivion! I guess it wont be so easy after all_!"-she thought angrily. She took a fast sweep with her eyes around the room and noticed a small cairn. She closed it and saw a large stone tablet with a snake on it. „_Bingo_!" She rushed back to the middle column and rotated it with the snake facing her. She pushed the pedestal again and the iron-bar gate lowered herself in to the ground. Elliora continued further in to the crypt. After a while she entered a small room and saw that it was filled with dead human bodies. „_What in Oblivion happened here_?"-she thought after seeing the fresh dead bodies. She drew her sword and continued further. She noticed that the walls were filled with holes and in the holes were layng ancient corpses. Some were completely stripped, some had armors and weapons that were corrosed and rusted. All of a sudden she heard a searching sound and went rolling on the ground avoiding a large sword. She turned back and yelled a small cry of surprise. In-front of her was standing one of the supposed dead ancient corpses. It had a rusted armor and a large two-handed sword in its hands. It swung again at her and she made a small jump backwards. –„_What in oblivion is going on in here? Did some kind of necromancy cult made a hideout in here_?"-she shouted furstrated. „_By the Divines. I have fighting against the undead_"-she thought to herself. Fighting undead wasnt the same as fighting living creatures. Many of the critical deadly points on their body had no effect like on the living, they felt no pain and they had infinite stamina. She had only one choise. Making fast dive towards the undead she blocked his swrod pushing it to his right and then made a strong right-sided swing with her sword severing its head. The body suddenly fell to the ground while she was preparing to block its next attack.

-„What the? It died?"-she looked puzzled. Usually to kill a resurrected undead she had to slice his head(which she had already done) then pull out his heart almost like vampires-the only difference was that with vampires one of the two said things was certain to be enough. –„_So maybe after-all its not necromancy magic that has awaken these undead-things_."-she had a bad feeling about these new undead. She took a torch and continued her way deeper in to the Burrow. She encountered a few more of the undead. She managed to kill them without suffering any injuries. After a few hours of going trough mazes and fighting undead creatures she entered a large room. The room was covered in spider web. „_I have a bad feeling about this_!"-she said to herself. At the end of the room she saw a man caught in a web covering another corridor. The man saw her:

-„Please! Help me! Get me out of here!"-he begged. She went towards him and then all of a sudden a giant spider fell from the rooftop and charged at her trying to bite her head off. She rolled on her back and jumped fast on her feet. Dodged one of its huge legs that tried to smash her in to the wall. She swung her sword fiercely and cut it off. The spider pulled back jerking from pain. Elliora decided that was her chance and jumped towards its belly and ran fiercely her sword trough it. The spider squirmed and fell dead to the ground. She made her way for the cocooned man.

-„Hurry, cut me loose and i will share with you the treasure behind the secret door at the end of this tunnel!"-he said. Elliora raised an eyebrow:

-„What secret door? What treasure are you talking about? Are you one of the bandits that robbed the merchant in Riverwood?"-she asked with a cold voice.

-„Yes, yes i am part of the band. But they are all dead now. Only i know how to open the door. Cut me loose and we will split the treasure."-he told her.

Elliora didn't believe for a moment what he was saying. She pulled her dagger in her right hand and started to cut the web. With her left hand she pulled secretly one throwing knife and hid it behind her. When she freed the man he pushed her with all of his might and made a run for it in to the corridor laughing:

-„Hahaha, fool of a woman... why should i split anything with any..."-his words were cut short and he fell on the ground with the throwing knife stuck in his skull. Elliora pulled her knife back, searched the dead man and found the golden claw. There was also a small journal. She took it and opened it. It's contend wasn't very interesting but at the end it had few interesting words „_When you have the golden claw, the solution is in the palm of your hand_." –„Hmm strange riddle.". She made her way trough the corridor. All the torches were lit and she saw strange and very old paintings carved in to the stone walls. At the end of the corridor was large door that which looked like it was a mechanism activated. It had three stone rings with carved animals on them and in the middle it had a dent with the form of a dragon claw along with three claws. Just like the claw she had in her. She took a look at the carved animals and noticed they were different from before. The rings had a butterfly, owl and a bear. She took a look at her surroundings and noticed that there were no animal carvings in the whole corridor. She thought for a moment. Then it hit her. „_When you have the golden claw, the solution is in the palm of yout hand_" – she pulled out the claw and started examining it. She didnt see anything out of the ordinary and cursed.

–„Damn, shoudn't have killed the damn idiot."- she threw the claw. It fell with the palm facing the ceiling. She flinched. The claw had three small figures carved on it. Elliora slapped her forehead:

-„Of course, i am such a ... „..._the solution is in your palm_"."-she pulled the claw up and looked closely. The animals on the claw were positioned – Bear, butterfly, owl – from the nails towards the heel. She started rolling the stone rings, adjusting the animals like they were positioned on the claw. Then she inserted the claw and pushed. The rings started rolling by them selves. Then all of a sudden they stopped with the Owl facing her. The door opened with a loud screeching noise and she faced a large stairway. Elliora climbed it and found herself in a huge cave. It seemed the cave had an opening on the ceiling because moonlight was shining in the cave. At the far end there was a large sarcophagus with two blazers on it's sides and something that looked like a huge stone shrine near the cave wall, behind them was another corridor and by the chill she felt, there was an exit there. Elliora proceeded cautiously. She saw a large chest near the sarcophagus and headed towards it. She opened it and her eyes went wide open. There were two black Akavari swords inside, along with some gold coins and what she thought was the dragon stone and a few diamonds and rubys. The sheaths of the akavari swords were black with silver engravings on some strange language. She pulled one out and un-sheethed it. The handle was made from black steel with infused diamonds in it. The blade was with a silver color and had some-kind of enchantment runes on it. She touched it. It was sharp, cold and it had a strange feeling to it. She noticed that even as the color of the blade was silver the the material wasn't silver, it wasn't also steel. „_I wonder what kind of a metal can withstand thousands of years without corroding or rusting! It could be the enchanting, i can ask the wizzard when i return in Whiterun_."-she thought. Then she heard a very loud thud and turned back. The lid of the sarcophagus was thrown on the ground and a large body covered in platemail was standing from it. Elliora cursed and prepared herself for the encounter. The undead pulled out a huge two-handed sword and looked at her. Elliroa froze dead in her place. „_Those eyes. They have intelligence. What in oblivion's name is this tomb_!" – she took her favorite stance. Right foot forward puting all of her weight on it, left foor behind her, her blade's edge up at the same height as her left shoulder and elwbows close. Then something amazing and horrifying happened. The undead opened its mouth:

-„_**RO...DAAH**_!"-it shouted and Elliora found herself flying backwards smashing in the cave wall. Her eyesight blackened. She tasted blood in her mouth. She felt that her left shoulder was dislocated. „_**Oblivion! What the hell**_?"-she tried to take a breath. She opened her eyes just in time to see the huge sword flying towards her head. She rolled on her right and pulled herself up. She was panting. The shock from the shockwave was subsiding and her vision was returning to normal. The undead was much faster than the ones she had killed before. And much stronger she noticed after blocking another hit that send her staggering a few steps back. „_Damn, I have to lure it closer_!"-she told to herself. She feigned a forward slash and when her opponent tried to block it she rolled to her right and went behind him slicing off his left hand. The undead howled loud. „_They even feel pain? This must be some sort of ancient dragon magic. There is no other explanation. I have to remember to thank the wizard for the lack of information he gave me before sending me here_!"-she thought with anger. She tried to parry another attack, but her strength failed her and the undead pushed her blade into her. Cutting deep into her chest. „_Argh! Blast this! If that strange magic hadn't surprised me this thing would be dead already_!"-her anger was growing. She bit her sword with her teeth and started pulling and throwing her knives at him. One dug itself in the undead's elbow and he dropped his sword. Elliora took her sword and jumped with her remaining strength towards him. He pulled his head in her direction and opened his mouth. „**_OH NO! NOT HIS TIME FUCKER_**!"-she snarld inwardly and swung her sword with all the strength she could muster towards his neck severing the head from the body. The undead dropped dead and she released a heavy sigh. Her chest was still bleeding severely and she felt her body was going cold. With trembling hand she unstrapped a healing potion from her belt and drank it slowly. „_Good thing i took a few of theese. Now i have to relocate my shoulder and sew the wound_.". She felt the warmth of her body returning and she started to fell a little better. She went near the cave wall, turned her left side towards it and smashed her shoulder in the rocks. A loud scream filled the large space. Elliora pulled from her backpack a needle, some thread and started sewing herself up. By the time she finished she was feeling a lot better. Her chest and shoulder were still hurting like hell, but at-least her blood had returned to normal capacity and she wasn't feeling like throwing up. She went back to the chest. Loaded the gems, gold and stone in her backpack. She loaded the imperial sword she had taken in Helgen as well. After that she started strapping her new swords on her left side. She heard a quiet humming and turned her head towards it. There was nothing in the direction she had turned except the stone shrine. „_Must have been my imagination_."-she thought strapping the second sword below the first. She heard it again. Elliora turned her head sharply. Still nothing . „_It's as if the sound is coming from the shrine. Could it?... Naah. Maybe i am still shaken from the shockwave_." She went towards the shrine and the humming grew louder. „_What in Talo's name could this be_?". She reached the shrine the humming was verry loud now. It seemed like the shire ised to have somekind of an ancient text written on it. But after centuries most of it was deleted. There was only a small part of the text left. She looked at the words. She didnt understand a bit, but she had a strange feeling that she shoud be able to. It was like the time she heard the dragon in Helgen. The feeling of deja'vu but not exactly. She tried to remember all of the inscriptions and all of a sudden the humming stopped. _„Well, the humming was strange enough, but this sudden silence is even stranger_."-Elliora turned her back on the shrine, took her backpack and headed towards the exit. „_Darn, I have to buy some new clothes, those are almost shredded to pieces_." she decided and entered the cold tunnel.


	4. Chapter 4

_**Declaration:I do not own Skyrim.**_

_**Chapter four:**_

It took her around fifteen minutes to exit the cave tunnel. When she finally left the tunnel, she found herself standing on the edge on a high cliff. She looked around for a path that could lead her towards the village. She spotted a small pathway leading east towards where Riverwood was. It was snowing and there was an unpleasant wind beating straight into her face. It was near twilight. „_I should be able to reach the village in around three or four hours. I hope this blizzard doesn't get stronger_." She heard wolfs somewhere in the distance but didn't pay much attention to them because it seemed they were far away. After two hours she stopped and checked her wound. „_Alright, the bleeding hasn't stared again, and it seems there are no factors for infection. I will have to change the stiches when i get to the village and clean the wound_." After a while longer she noticed the road that she had waked on when climbing the mountain. When she reached the village it was late night. Elliora continued towards the gates when suddenly she heard a strong voice:

-„Halt. Who goes there?"

„_Strange... The guards didn't stop me last time i was here, and then it was also late night_."-she grabbed the two swords by the handlets and continued cautiously. When she reached the gate, someone lit a torch and she understood immediately why they stopped her. It seemed that the garrison from Whiterun had arrived. There were two guards in heavy plate armor standing at the gate, and she noticed ten archers standing at the ready above it. She closed on them:

-„I am Elliora Silvereye, i am on mission from Jarl Balgruuf, i was planning to rest in the inn and make my way to Whiterun on the morning."-she told the guards. A man appeared at the top of the gate. He had Captain Stripes. He took a look at her and said:

-„Ah yes! Housecarl Irileth told us about you. Hmm, it seems you had quite the battle with someone. Did you encounter bandits on the road?"-he asked when he saw that her clothes were bloodied and torn. –„Open the gates men!"-he shouted to someone behind the walls.

The gate opened and Elliora made her way in. She was startled by the picture in-front of her. The village streets were crowded with soldiers and their shacks. Elliora headed towards the inn. The only thing that came to her mind when she entered it was „_Damn it is crowded in here_." The inn was full with soldiers from the new garrison, there were a few villagers and a group of the village regular guards. She pushed her way towards the innkeepers.

-„I really hope that you have a free room!"-she told the man behind the counter. He nodded. She took a look around the room and noticed a free space at one table occupied by some of the guards that were from the village. –„Give me a tankard of mead, then prepare something with meat – it doesn't matter what is the cost- i will sit with the village guards."- when the innkeeper poured her the mead she headed towards the guard's table.

-„Mind if I take a seat here guys?"-she asked them. They turned their attention towards her, watched her for a few second with interest and then one of them nodded. Elliora seated herself in the free chair. Elliora unstrapped her swords and placed them near her tankard paying attention not to topple the tankards of the soldiers. The man who had nodded stared at them. She noticed that he was a sergeant.

-„Are these Akavari swords? Their scabbards look just like new. Who crafted them?"-the man asked.

-„I do not know. I found them in Bleak Falls Barrow."-she answered. The men around her choked with their mead.

-„You have been in the Barrow? But i heard that the Draugr have awakened. There were also a few fel'as from the village went up there a few weeks ago and disappeared."-one of the guards said quietly.

-„I knew it, it's only lies. I bet they only moved somewhere else without announcing it to anyone."-another one countered him.

-„Draugr? Is that what these undead creatures i encountered inside the ruins called? I have never heard of Draugr before."-Elliora announced. The whole inn went silent.

-„You... you mean you really encountered Draugr in Bleak Falls Borrow?"-one of the villagers asked with panicked tone.

-„Yes, and they were no ordinary undead too. First they didn't smell like thousands of years old corpses should. Second – i believe they feel pain. At-least one of them acted so. And he had some strange magic i haven't seen ever before. One of them smashed me in the wall with amazing force. And that one also had intelligence in him to some degree."-Elliora explained to them.

-„Then, are the rumors that the dragons have return true? It is said in old legends that the Draugr are awakened when their masters are near."-another villager said. This time a soldier from the garrison answered him:

-„We believe so. That is why the Jarl send us here. Someone reported to him that Helgen was destroyed by a dragon. We are here to do everything we can to stop it if it comes this way."

The inn buzzed with murmurs. Elliora took a sip from her tankard and pulled one of her swords out of his scabbard. The murmurs stopped and everyone turned their attention to the girl. The diamonds on the handle were reflected in everyones eyes.

-„Well whatever these things are, they are dead now. I had to find something for the Jarl there. It seems Nocturnal was with me because i found these swords. I haven't tested them yet, but i believe they will prove very useful."-she sheathed the sword again and left it on the table.

-„By the way. Can anyone tell me where is the Valrius store? I killed the bandits that robbed him and found something of his. I need to return it tomorrow."-Elliora asked the villagers.

-„From the north gate you go straightforward the south gate, on the way you will see it , you can't miss it."-someone answered her. Elliora nodded. Then she saw that her meal was coming.

-„Give me another tankard of mead!"-she told the woman that had brought her the food. After she placed the food in-front of her the woman nodded and headed back to bring her another tankard.

Elliora dug in instantly. She was starving. All her food for the trip was some smoked meat and a few fruits.

When she finished her meal the Sergeant asked her:

-„What was this item you had to retrieve for the Jarl from the ruins?"

-„I do not know. It's a stone tablet of a sort. The court wizard told me it was important and it might be related to the dragons."-she told him.

-„I still can't believe the draugrs are waking up. I have only heard stories about them. What unbelievable times we are living in. Draugrs awakening, dragons reappearing... unbelievable!"-one of the soldiers mumbled.

-„I haven't been around for a few days, has anything interesting happened?"-asked Elliora. One of the villagers looked at her:

-„It seems there was a big battle near Dawnstar between the Imperial Legion and the Stormcloaks. The Empire has pushed out Ulfric from the region there. It seems it was a surprise attack and the Stormcloaks were caught off-guard. Ulfric has lost around twenty thousand men in the skirmish, the Empire only around eight. It must have been quite the blow to his plans. We still wonder which side will Jarl Balgruuf take in this war."-the man took a look around himself giving displeased look at the soldiers. One of them countered his accusation:

-„The Jarl doesn't want to take a side because either way nords will have to spill the blood of other nords! You are fully aware that the legions in Skyrim are mostly filled with nord population."-the were a few silent murmurs across the inn for a few minutes but then everyone went back to their conversations. Elliora finished hear meal, paid the innkeepers and went towards her room for a nice relaxing bath and a good sleep, that she knew, she needed very much.

The next day the blizzard had already stopped. Elliora packed her things, bought and ate a small breakfast and headed towards the Valrius family. The village was overcrowded as the day before, even more now because there were many more villagers going about their business. Few of the soldiers that had been the previous night at the inn greeted her, but they didn't stop to chat because they had to take their posts. It took her around five minutes to reach the store. When she entered she saw that there were no customers at the moment. Lucan noticed her and he nodded at her with anticipation. Elliora pulled the golden claw from her bag and gave it to him.

-„I can't believe you managed to retrieve it. How did you persuade the bandits to give it back?"-he asked amazed and thankful at the same time.

-„With a few rolling heads and some knives in their backs."-she answered him. He startled for a moment but then regained his composure. –„Aand some of them had a close encounter with the Draugrs, I found them dead in the ruin."-she added. Lucan stared at her for a few moments speechless, but then made another nod and placed the claw on one stand.

-„I must say, I am pretty amazed that you killed them and survived an encounter with these undead. I have heard from the people here that they are not normal undead. I always thought that they were only stories that the locals made to scare their children."-he said shaking his head. –„Ah, yes! Here is your reward for bringing the claw back."-he pulled out a large coin purse from behind the counter. After counting five hundred gold coins he passed them in her hands.

-„Thank you very much! Also i wish to know if i can trade some precious stones with you?"-Elliora pulled out four of the stones she had found. Two diamonds and two rubys with considerable size. Lucan's eyes went wide open.

-„Where did you find these? They must be worth around ten thousand gold coins each."-he said with a sparkle in his eyes. –„Look, i can buy one diamond and one ruby from you. That's all i can afford right now. How about it?"-he asked her with anticipation in his voice. Elliora thought for a few seconds and then dropped the stones in-front of him. The man beamed and rushed towards a small chest in the other end of the room. When he opened it she saw that it was full with coins. After a few minutes he went back to her with three large coin pouches. –„Here twenty thousand gold coins. It was nice doing business with you. If you want to sell or trade other gems like these come back here. A friend of mine will be passing by after a month or so and he will be bringing some interesting stuff, especially useful for mercenaries and adventurers."

Elliora bid farewell to the merchant and headed towards the stables. She had to buy a new horse before going to Whiterun. After bartering with the stable-master for a few minutes she managed to buy a nice young and strong black steed. „_I can't believe my luck has finally turned a new page. Ever since i came in Skyrim i had only bad luck. At-least now i have plenty of gold. Maybe I can even buy a house in Whiterun or something_."-she thought. „_Ralof said that i could join the stormcloaks if i wanted. I have to go to Windhelm and see how are the things there_.". After restocking her provisions-this time with much better food than before- Elliora headed towards the city. „_I do hope that this dragon stone is useful at-lest a little bit. I am going to kill that wizard if it's useless_."

After two days regular stride she met a group of people on the road. Elliora noticed them from a few hundred steps. They were all clad in white-gray robes and pants. All of them were armed. Some had large swords and hammers, others shields, swords and axes. She proceeded with caution towards them with her right grabbing the handle of one of her swords. When she neared them a few turned towards her. She noticed that they were examining her cautiously. One of them spoke:

-„Greetings fellow traveler. May i ask where are you coming from and where are you headed towards?"- Elliora noticed that his tone wasn't threatening.

-„I am coming from Riverwood and my road leads towards Whiterun. Who are you people? You look like monks, but last time i checked monks hired guards, they didn't carry weapons themselves."-she asked them with her grip tightening. She was ready to attack at the smallest jest from them.

The man that had spoken noticed that the young woman in-front of him was tensed. He also noticed that one of her hands was grabbing what it seemed like an akavari sword, and she had two. Her position showed that she wasn't frightened- which surprised him. His group was numbering thirty people, all carrying weapons. When he saw her eyes he startled for a moment. Not only they were in the color of silver but they were emitting coldness and the promise of a quick and painless death. He sensed shivers going through his body. „_This girl is not an ordinary mercenary. What is this strange aura she is emitting? I am sure it is not daedric, but it is much more powerful_."-he thought.

-„Me and my friends are a part of the Vigil of Stendarr. You do not have to worry about us. We hunt Daedra, daedra worshipers, monsters and beasts. I do not sense daedra energy around you, and i am pretty sure you are not a monster or a beast in human skin."-he added with the hint of a smile on his face. Elliora relaxed and dropped the handle of her sword. She had heard of the order and she once even had considered for joining in it.

-„Ah Vigilants? What a nice surprise. I am familiar with your order, actually i helped a few of your brothers and sisters a few years ago in Hammerfell."-she told them. She had encountered few members of the order two years ago, and helped them destroy a daedric shrine that was crawling with daedra. Some cult had killed a whole village to summon them. Their numbers were a few hundred.

-„Ah so you have been a part in that mission? Come to think about it i heard somewhere that there was a group of mercenaries that had helped with the task. I also heard that there was a young girl that had an outstanding swormanship."-the man turned towards his brethren. –„Brothers and sisters it seems we have encountered a friend of the order today."-then he turned back to her. –„If you wish you can camp tonight with us, you are most welcomed."

Elliora thought for a moment then nodded:

-„Alright, i could use some company and maybe you can tell me if you have encountered anything interesting in the near past." She jumped down from her horse and continued walking along with them.

When the night came they made a camp near the road. The weather was much better than when she was in the mountains, it wasn't snowing or raining and there was no wind at all. Few members of the party went in the nearby forest to hunt. After few hours they brought two deers with them and started preparing them for cooking along with two others that were making a large bonefire. When the preparations were ready they gathered around it. Elliora turned towards one of them:

-„I wonder, could you explain to me how can someone summon daedra even after Martin Septim closed the gateway? I thought that it was impossible to summon daedra after the Oblivion crisis."-she always had wondered about that. The man she had spoken to answered her:

-„Well the thing is – Emperor Martin didn't close the link towards the planes of Oblivion. It seems he just made it impossible for anyone to open more Oblivion gates from both sides of the realms. People can still summon daedra, but they can never call upon whole armies. That is why the Orden was created. We stay vigilant and keep our eyes for daedric energies and worshipers, and when we find them we put an end to them."-he explained.

-„Hmm, that makes sense, but after „The War" people might think that mages would think twice before doing stuff like this."-Elliora stated more to herself than to the others. She heard a few snickers around her. –„What's so funny?"-she ashed curiously.

-„There will always be people who strife for greatness and power. That is just the way the world works."-said the leader of the party. –„And there will always be people like us who stay vigilant and ready to fight them."-he added passionately. Elliora noded, turned hear face towards the bonefire and burrowed herself in her thoughts.

She continued with the group until they reached Whiterun. There they parted ways. The orden's warriors were headed towards their base that was placed in a mountain south of Downstar.

The vicinity of the city was full with life just like the last time she had been there. Small parties of soldiers were patrolling the main roads and farms, merchants were going in and coming out of the city gates, and farmers were working on their field. Elliora headed towards the stables that were placed right in-front of the south gate. She had decided to leave her horse there and head to the palace by foot. She also needed to visit a jewelry store and a banker.

After several hours of wandering around she managed to find a decent looking jewelry shop. Elliora entered it and went towards the counter. A man with expensive clothes gave her a disapproving look. Elliora just shrugged and pulled her pouch with precious stones. She placed all eight in-front of him. Two rubys, three diamonds and three sapphires. The man's eyes were about to pop when she placed the last one on the counter.

-„Such beauty, such perfect shapes, and they are all so large, around forty-forty five karats each."-his eyes were sparkling. –„Are you by any chances here to sell them?"-it seemed he would kill a person to have these jewels.

-„I want to know how much it will cost me for a necklace with one of the saphires made with a silver chain embroidered with diamonds?"-Elliora asked the jewelmaker. He took a look at her and started thinking. It seemed he was calculating in his head. After a few seconds he raised his head again:

-„Well given that you are supplying the jewel, the price will be around fifteen thousand gold pieces."-he took another look at her and her torn out clothes.

-„Alright, now tell me how much are you willing to give me for the rest of the jewels!"-she told him with a grin. The merchants eyes lit again:

-„Give me a few minutes to examine them and i will tell you."- he said and Elliora nodded. The man pulled out some strange device and started examining the goods. After half an hour he was done with the last jewel and placed it in-front of him along with the rest:

-„Such high quality. I have seen such jewels only on royalty. I can buy them off for five hundred thousand gold pieces. What do you say hum?"-the jewelmaker told her.

-„Sold!"-Elliora raised her right hand. The man shook it and went towards a large metal safe. He pulled out three large bags and dragged them towards her.

-„Here. Five hundred thousand gp. If you want you can count them when you have the chance to be sure."-the man said. Elliora shook a hand and grabbed the three bags in one hand:

-„I believe you. Can you direct me towards a bank? I will have them count the gold."-she pulled the coin purse and dropped it on the counter. –„Here. There are around eighteen thousand gp. In here. I want you to make that necklace i told you about." The merchant nodded and took the purse.

-„There is a good bank down the street of the left. I believe it is the safest because the building is made of marble and the safes are made from ebony steel."

Elliora thanked him and exited the jewelry-store. She continued down the street and found the bank exactly where the man had told her it will be. The building was massive. Three stores high and brilliant white. She pushed the steel door and entered. There weren't many people inside. Only a few customers and the bankers. Elliora turned towards one of the female staff.

-„Greetings! I would like to deposit a large sum of gold."-she told the woman. The banker took a sceptic look at her.

-„How much are you depositing?"-her tone was almost unpleasant. Elliora smirked:

-„Forty eight thousand gold coins."-she said with a loud voice on purpose. The bank went silent. The woman in-front of her was speechless.

-„F-f-four .. kh-kh."-the woman pulled a glass of water and drank it on ex. –„You have come to the right place, miss..?"-she was still shaking a little, but she was preparing a few parchments.

-„My name is Elliora Silvereye. Silvereye as one word."-she told the woman which was now writing on one of the parchments. After a few minutes the woman finished her writing and pulled her head up looking at her.

-„Alright miss Silvereye. Now – „ –the woman started- „-here is how our bank works. We store your gold in one of our safes. The only people who will have access to it will be me and you. The bank doesn't take responsibility if someone robes the vaults."-Elliora raised her hand but the woman countered her. –„But! You can sign another contract with which we take will take responsibility for an yearly fee of one percent of the deposited sum."-the banker- woman finished. Elliora thought for a few seconds:

-„Alright, i want that extra contract."

When they were finished with the paperwork, the banker showed Elliora to her vault. There were three men waiting them there.

-„These men will count the sum."-she explained to Elliora.

-„Alright, just wait a few seconds, i have to fill my pouch."-Elliora told the banker.

It took the personnel around two hours to count everything. When they were ready the banker locked the vault and gave one of the two keys to her.

„_Now time to do some shopping. Then on my way to the damned wizard. Oblivion have mercy on him if he was aware of the draugr_."-Elliora thought to herself while strolling trough the streets looking for a clothing store.

The sun was setting down. It seemed it was around eight o'clock. The streets were beginning to empty. „_Damn, i hope i can find a damned store before they all close_." Just as she was thinking that. She reached the end of the street that she was walking on, and found herself standing in-front of a large store that had many different clothes displayed on the windows. „_Finally_!" Elliora rushed inside. The store was empty. There was only one woman that was reading a book behind the counter. The woman took a quick glance towards Elliora, nodded and went back to her reading. Elliora started looking through the store. She bought a couple of nice black leather shirts, a large gray leather cape with a hood, and few pairs of under-ware. After she changed in the store she headed towards the Bannered Mare. It was late so Elliora decided to visit the court wizard the next day. The streets were emptying. It took her a couple of hours to reach the inn. There were only few patrons in the place. Elliora ordered some food and a tankard of mead. She instucted the innkeeper to prepare a bathtub for her in her room. She didn't waste anytime chatting with the other customers this time. She was tired, and after she finished eating she went straight to her room.

The morning came faster than she liked it. She ate a small breakfast and headed towards the palace. Unlike in the night, the streets were crawling with people. Elliora spotted Adrianne Avenicci resting in-front of her forge. Adrianne saw her and waved her hand. Elliora waved back, but didn't stop for a chat. She reached the stairs. „_Ah gods damn it, not again_." – she hated climbing stairs.

When she reached the top it was already noon. The guards were the same from the last time she was here and they nodded to her when she passed them and entered the keep. She made her way towards the main hall. The Jarl wasn't in his throne, and advisor Avenicci was also nowhere in sight. Elliora went to the wizard's door and knocked twice on it.

-„Come on in!"-she heard a muffled shout.

She opened the door and entered the room. Farengar wasn't alone. In-front of his desk was standing a middle aged woman wearing full plate armor in bronze coloring. Elliora noticed that the woman had an akavari sword strapped on her left thigh. The insignia on her armor looked familiar. Farengar was talking to her :

-„You see? The terminology is clearly First Era or even earlier. I am convinced that this is a copy of an much older text. Perhaps dating just after the Dragonborn. Maybe i can use this to cross-reference with other texts."

-„Good! I am glad you are making progress. My employers are anxious to have some answers."-said the woman.

-„Oh, have no fear. The Jarl himself has finally taken some interest in that matter. I now have time to devote most of my time on this."-said Farengar with reassuring voice.

-„Time is running out Farengar, don't forget this isn't some theoretical theoretical question. Dragons have come back."- she seemed very disturbed.

-„Yes, yes don't worry. Although to see a dragon up-close personally will be tremendously valuable. Now, let me show you something else that your employers might find very intriguing... Ah!"-he didn't finish because he saw Elliora.-„Yes, the Jarl's protege. Back from Bleak Falls Barrow? Huh, you didn't die it seems."-he said with a cheerful tone. Elliora barely contained herself from breaking his teeth. –„Ah, you have the Dragon Stone. It seems you are above the usual brutes the Jarl sends my way." Elliora almost choked at his words.

-„How did you know i have the Stone?"-she asked him.

-„Because i can feel it's power from you."-he answered. Elliora pulled down her bag, took the stone out and placed it on the table. The armored woman pulled her head from the map she was examining and turned her attention towards the stone.

-„Ok, so what is next?"-Elliora asked the wizard. He looked at her:

-„This is where your job ends. And mine begins. The work of the mind. Sadly undervalued here in Skyrim. My associate here would be pleased to see your handiwork. She discovered it's location by means so far she has declined to share with me."-he turned towards the other woman: -„So your information was correct after all. And we have our friend here"-he pointed with his head towards Elliora-„to thank for recovering it for us."

The woman looked surprised.

-„You went in to Bleak Falls Barrow and got that? Nice work!"-she turned to Farengar : -„Just send me a copy when you decipher that alright?"

All of a sudden the the door opened with a loud „BANG" and Irileth entered the room with a dark expression on her face.

-„Farengar, you need to come at once. A dragon has been sighted outside the city."-she looked at Elliora: -„You should come too."

-„A dragon? How exciting! Where was it seen? What was it doing?"-the wizard sounded like a child in-front of candy. Unlike him Elliora felt shivers running through her body. It seemed Irileth wasn't sharing the wizard's excitement.

-„I wouldn't be so happy about that. If a dragon decides to attack Whiterun, we have no means to stop it from burning down everything. I don't know if we can stop it."- she headed towards the second floor. Elliora and Farengar followed her. Elliora noticed that the armored woman was nowhere to be seen. _„Hmph! Wonder where she ran to_?"-she thought to herself. They reached the second floor of the palace. There she saw the Jarl siting on a chair infront of a small table covered with different maps. Proventus was standing in his right side like the last time, and there was a large nord with a huge axe standing on his left side. In-front of the table a soldier was kneeling. The Jarl was talking to him:

-„So.. Irileth tells me you came from the western tower?"

-„Yes my lord."-he looked exhausted. Irileth stood beside him:

-„Tell him what you told me! About the dragon."-she commanded him. The soldier took a deep breath:

-„That's right. Saw it coming from the south. He was fast... faster than anything i have ever seen."

-„What did it do? Is it attacking the watchtower?"-asked the Jarl.

-„No my lord. It was just circling overhead when i left. I never ran so fast in my life. I thought it would come after me for sure."-answered the soldier.

-„Good work son! We'll take it from here. Get down to the barracks for some food and rest. You've earned it."-the Jarl turned to Irileth-„Irileth! Take two hundred guards and head down there."

-„I have already commanded my men to wait for me at the main gate."-she told him.

-„Good. Don't fail me!"-he turned to Elliora this time: -„There is no time to waste. I need your help again. I want you to go with Irileth and help her fight this dragon. You survived Helgen and have more experience with these creature than anyone else here. We will be in your debt if you help us out."-he looked at the wizard: -„Farengar, i want you to stay here. I can't risk losing you with Irileth if things go south. I need you to stay here and prepare any defenses you can if the dragon comes this way."- he said. The wizard didn't look very happy but bowed and left. The Jarl turned towards Elliora again: -„So what will you decide?"

Elliora thought for a moment. „_Damn them to Oblivion. Why is this happening. And here i thought everything will be alright. But the Jarl is right. Maybe i can do something that will save some lives. Blast it_!"

-„Alright, i will go with your men. Irileth!"-she turned to the dark elf- „ Lead the way!"

The dunmer bowed to the Jarl and made her way down the stairs with Elliora following her. They left the palace in a hurry and made their way trough the city towards the western gate. The city guard was in an uproar. There were soldiers everywhere running to their posts on the towers and walls preparing if the dragon appeared. The citizens were running towards their homes. When they reached the gate Elliora saw that the party of guards that was supposed to leave the city had gathered. Irileth stood in-front of them:

-„Here is the situation men! A dragon is attacking the western watchtower." A wave of panic spread trough the lines.

-„WHAT?"

-„Now we are in for it!"

-„A real live dragon?"

-„You heard right!"-said Irileth: -„I said a dragon. I don't much care where it came from, or who sent it. But i do know that it has made a mistake of attacking Whiterun."-she said with burning passion and the soldiers relaxed a little.

-„But Housecarl... How can we fight a dragon?"-asked one of the soldiers.

-„That is a good question. None of us have ever seen a dragon before, nor were we expected to meet them in battle. But we are honor-bound to fight it. Even if we fail. This dragon is threatening our homes... our families. Could you call yourselves Nords if you ran from this monster? Are you going to let me face this thing alone?"-Irileth shouted. –„It is more than honor at stake here. Think about it! It's the first dragon sighted since the last age. The honor in killing it will be ours! Now what do you say? Shall we go kill us a dragon?"

-„Yea! Damn right. This thing is good as dead!"-heated shouts started coming from the crowd of soldiers.

-„Alright soldiers. Lets go."-she turned to Elliora: -„The tower is two thousand feet from the city. It will take a while until we reach it. Can you keep up with us? We will be keeping a standart training running pace. The cavalry has taken almost all of the war horses so we can't use them at the moment."

Elliora nodded and they began their fast march after the gates were opened. The tempo was easy to adjust to. Ten minutes running, ten minutes walking. After half and hour she saw the tower in the distance. Her eyebrows narrowed. There was smoke coming from the direction where the watchtower was. They closed in, and stopped around a hundred feet from the tower behind a large rock formation. The tower was in ruins. The top of the tower was torn apart. There were pieces of it all around the construction. Small flames were still burning on the grass. The dragon was nowhere in sight. Irileth stepped in-front of them:

-„I know it looks bad. We need to figure out what happened, and if that dragon is still lurking around. Spread out and look for survivors, we need to know what we are dealing with."-she commanded and the soldiers started to spread around the tower. Elliora headed towards the entrance. She passed a couple of training dummies that were torn apart. Elliora grabbed the handles of her swords and proceeded with caution. She was about to reach the entrance of the tower when all of a sudden a panicked soldier ran out.

-„No! Get back. It's still around here somewhere. Hroki and Tor were just grabbed when they tried to make a run for it."-he said. Then she heard a loud road from above them. –„Xynareth save us! Here he comes again!"-the soldier ran inside the tower.

-„Draw your bows and make the arrows count!"-Irileth shouted. The soldiers dispersed and readied their bows. Then Elliora saw him. A massive gray behemoth swooped above them. „It's a different dragon. It's not the black death i saw in Helgen. And this one is smaller than him. So it is true. The dragons are returning in numbers."

-„Don't stay in groups!"-she shouted towards the soldiers, but was just a few seconds late. The dragon was above a group of twenty soldiers. He opened his jaw and she heard the same strange words she had herd the black dragon speaking:

-„**_YOL TOOR SHUL_**!" –a blazing inferno sprung from his jaw burning the soldiers below him to crisp instantly. Elliora noticed that the flames were less intense than the flames the black dragon had called. The dragon turned towards her. –„**_YOL TOOR SHUL_**!"- she heard again. She jumped behind a large rock, mostly by reflex and then she heard the noise of the inferno behind her. She smelled melting rock. She could never mistake the smell. She had visited the vulcano in Morrowind, and she could never forget the smell of molten lava. „_Damn these are some hot flames this monster is conjuring_." The inferno stopped and she made a run for the tower. Few arrows passed near her. She turned her head instantly, only to see them bouncing off the dragon scales. „_It seems Irileth's plan wont work_." Then the dragon did something very strange. He landed on the ground near another group of soldiers. He dove his head towards them. There was as short struggle and then the dragon raised his head. Elliora saw that he had a soldier in his jaw that was struggling to get free. She ran towards him. There was a loud cracking sound and the soldier went silent and unmoving. The dragon made a wide swing with his head and threw the body in-to the air. He turned towards the group again and opened his mouth for-what Elliora thought-another Dragon Breath. She reached him just in time. Pulling her swords she jumped near his left wing. She struck it with a savage double left swing tearing a large part of it away. The dragon roared in pain and turned towards her. He lashed his thorny tail towards her but she dodged it with a rear somersault. She lunged for his neck with her right hand while swinging for his jaw with her left. The dragon, seeing the sword heading for his jaw raised his head, but he didn't react fast enough to dodge the sword pointed at his neck. Her sword struck true and he roared in pain again. Elliora was bathed in the blood that was squirting from the wound. The dragon looked at her again and opened his mouth:

-„_**FUS RO DAH**_"-came out a familiar shout.

An invisible force smashed right in to her and send her flying towards the tower behind her. She smashed in the wall with unbelievable force. She could have sworn she heard bones cracking. Then she fell on the ground blood pouring from her mouth and nose. „_Shit! SHIT! That was so freaking stronger than that thing in the crypt did_!" She took a very painful breath and choked spewing more blood on herself and the ground. „_Oblivion! I hope atleast one potion is still whole, i need to stop my internal bleeding_." – she crawled towards her bag that was laying a few feet away from her. She took a look at the enemy. He was in the air again. „_Damn it! I thought i had disabled that damn wing_!" It seemed he was busy with another group of soldiers. „_Their numbers are runing thinner by the moments. What a monster_!"-she thought grimly. She reached her bag and started looking for surviving porions. After a few seconds she managed to get a hold of a whole one. Her breathing was geting harder. She drank the potion as fast as she could and almoust choke again.

-„KILL IT! Bring IT DOWN!"-she heard the frantic shouts of Irileth.

-„The arrows can't penetrate his scales! Damn it! SPREAD OUT he is coming for another Breath attack!"-a female soldier shouted.

Elliora coughed again. This time there was no blood coming out of her mouth. „_The internal bleedings have finaly stopped. I dont have much time_." She checked her chest, arms and legs for broken bones. She couldn't move her left hand from below the elbow. „_Gods be damned, it's broken. I can't even hold my sword_." She took her sword and sheathed it. Then grabbed her other sword with her healthy arm and rushed towards where the dragon was attacking some of the surviving soldiers. „_I have to lure him near the tower somehow. Then maybe i will be able to do something...! I wonder if he understands human languages_." Then the dragon landed again. He sweped two soldiers with his unharmed wing and threw another wave of burning inferno at the others of the group. Elliora reached his tail and swung with all the force she could muster. She managed to cut off the thorny edge of it. The dragon shook with pain and turned his attention at her. His eyes opened wide when he saw her. „_Heh! It seems he thought i was dead or something. Well, surprise surprise you damned lizzard_!"-she thought wickedly. The dragon roared with anger and Elliora ran full-speed towards the tower. The huge monster shot in the air and swooped towards her. She managed to dodge his claws by rolling on the ground. She stood and continued runing towareds the tower. She saw two soldiers that were shouting encouragingly to her. The dragon was coming for another round. He was just about to grab her but she made a large forward jump and landed on her belly inside the watchtower. She rolled sideways towards the walls because she was followed by another fire blast from the dragon outside. She took a glance outside and saw that „he" – atleast she thought that it was a „he"- was circling the tower. She also niticed that he was flying one level below the maximum height of the tower. Then an idea popped in her head. She stood on her feet. Whrapped her hand tight to her body and headed towards the top of the tower. The shouts outside were much less than few minutes ago. „_Gods be damned, there are less than fifty soldiers left alive by the sounds of it_!" She hurried on the stairs. She stopped and looked down to the two soldiers.

-„HEY!"-she shouted. They startled and looked up at her. –„I want you to draw the dragon's attention when i tell you!"-she told them.

-„WHAT? WHY?"-one of them asked. He was at the brink of snapping.

-„I have a plan. Just draw his attention. I am not asking you to go outside and fight him. DO as I say and maybe we will be able to survive. We are good as dead anyway. Atleast we can try something."-she told him. The soldiers took a look at each other then turned to her and nodded. She continued climbing the stairway. The roof ot he tower was missing. „_Ah, so that is where the rubble came from_." She took a peek outside. The dragon was hovering over two soldiers not thirty feet away. Elliora looked down behind her and shouted:

-„Ok! Draw his attention here!"-she commanded them. They both ran outside of the tower and started shouting insults at the gray behemoth.

Elliora crawled slowly towards the edge of the tower and took cover behind a part of the wall. She glanced towards the dragon and saw him flying towards the sawthat his trajectory was still one floor below where she was hiding. Elliora tightened her grip over her sword waiting in anticipation. The dragon lowered his speed when he reached the watchtower and prepared to fry the runing humans below him. Elliora made her move. She took a few steps backwords and then ran as fast as she could. The dragon was just infront oh her. She jumped as hard as she could and landed on his back, just below his neck. The dragon shook in amazement and tried to look back. She didnt give him that chance. She made a hard thrust with her sword in the base of his neck. The dragon screamed in pain. Elliora continued thrusting her sword repeatedly. The monster began to loose height and soon he crashed in to the ground. Elliora was sent flying again, but she managed to land withount severe injuries this time. The dragon's blood was everywhere. The creature was convulsing with pain. He tried to raise but crumbled on the ground again. Elliora approached his head slowly. She raised her sword in a finishing stance. The dragon looked at her and she could have sworn he was laughing inside. She made a thrust and stuck the sword deep in his head. All of a sudden the dragon screamed again, but this time she heard human language:

-„**_NOOO_**! **_DOVAHKIIN_**!"-and he fell to the ground dead.

Then something verry strange happened. Somekind of energy began to separate from his body and a strange light shot towards her. She felt power. Her wounds began to heal instantly. She could feel the exaustion fading away. The feeling was amazing. She felt a tingle on her body. „_What a strange sensation_." She took a look around. The surviving soldiers were gathering near the tower behind her. Irileth was still alive, her right hand was burned but otherwise she didn't seem to have any major injuries. Elliora headed in their direction. The soldiers were giving her strange looks. She noticed something strange in those looks. „_Well, I did just kill a dragon after all, maybe they are too shaken at the moment_." She was about to talk to Irileth when she heard a rumbling noise. She looked above her and saw a large piece of the wall falling right above her. She didnt have time to think and do anything. Then out of nowhere the words in the Bleak Falls Barrow came to her mind. The most strange thing was that she knew what they were saying. Most of the words were incompleate but she remembered one that was intact. She acted on instinct.

-„_**FUS**_!"-she shouted and the falling wall was blown away. „**WHAT THE**?"-Elliora was shaken. The soldiers were standing speechless behind her. One of them stepped forward:

-„I can't belive it! You're... Dragonborn..."- he said trembling like he was in the presense of one of the gods themselves.

-„What? What do you mean Dragonborn?"-asked Elliora confused. The other soldiers had the same looks in their eyes as the man infront of her. A mixture of awe and fear.

-„In the very oldest tales, back from where there still were dragons in Skyrim, Dragonborn would slay dragons and steal their power. That's what you did right? Absorb the dragon's power. That bright syphon of energy."-said the soldier. Elliora was gering more and more confused.

-„I do not know what happened, and what i did. But yes, my wounds are healed and i feel like i have sleped for a whole day straight."

-„Yes! I am right. You can „Shout" now, can't you? That's what you did with the wall chunk. That means only one thing. You- are – Dragonborn!"-he said with awe.

-„Dragonborn? What are you talking about?"-asked another guard. And a third interfered:

-„That's right! My grandfather used to tell me stories about Dragonborn! Those born with the Dragon Blood in 'em. Like old Tiber Septim himself."

-„I never heard of Tiber Septim killing any dragons."-countered the guard that hadn't heard of the Dragonborn before. The older one smacked him behind the head:

-„There were no dragons then idiot. They are just coming back now in ... forever."-he looked at Elliora again. –„But the old tales tell of Dragonborn who could kill dragons and steal their power. You must be one!"-then he looked at Irileth:

-„What say you Irileth? You're being awfully quiet."

-„Come on, Irileth, tell us! Do you belive in this Dragonborn business?"-asked a female soldier thsi time. Irileth's expression was dark.

-„Hmph. Some of you would be better off keeping quiet than flapping your gums on a matter you don't know anything about. Here's a dead dragon, and that's something i definitely understand. Now we know we can kill them. But i don't need somekind of mythical Dragonborn. Someone who can put down a dragon is more than enough with me."-she looked at Elliora with respect. The old soldier who had spoken about the Dragonborn shook his head:

-„You woldn't understand, Housecarl. You ain't a Nord. Irileth countered him:

-„I have been all across Tamriel. I have seen plenty of things just as outlandish as this one. I'd advise you all to trust in the strength of your sword arm over tales and legends."-she said with steel conviction. But the soldier wasnt backing out. He looked at Elliora again:

-„That was „Shouting", what you just did. Must be. You really are a Dragonborn then..."-he didnt finish because Irileth shouted:

-„Alright everyone, see if there are any wounded among the bodies and then we will head back towards the city."-she turned to Elliora: –„You can go on ahead and inform the Jarl of what happened here. We can't thank you enough for your support. Well then, i have work to do. See you later in the castle!"-and she turned towards the surviving soldiers.

Elliora packed her scattered things in her bag and headed slowly back to the city. „Hundred and fifty soldiers dead for twenty minutes. And they were scattered on small groups. What monstrous magic and strength."- She unstrapped her left hand and made a few moves with it. „My injuries are fully healed. I wonder if what the old man said is true. Dragonborne was it? I ahve to find some information on this topic. If my memory serves me right Martim Septim was the last of the Dragon Blood. But nowhere in the history books is said that he had dragon powers or magic. How very strange."- She continued contemplating.

She was half her way back to the city when all of a sudden the ground shook violently and a thunderous shout came from the huge mountain that was visible on the southeast side of Whiterun;

-„_**DOOOO-VAAAAAH-KIIIIIN**_!"

„What in the world was that? Such power to shake the whole plain. I wonder what in Oblivion has happened now!" She continued with a jogging speed.


End file.
